The Prisoner of Time
by StarWritingFlute200
Summary: Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban and is ready to complete what he set out to do twelve years ago. Only Ella knows his true purpose. Can she find a way to help this man? The clock is ticking towards the dark scenes Ella's nights are filled with, but will even she be able to decipher them before it's too late? Rated T to be safe. I don't own Harry Potter.
1. Chapter 1: Owl Post

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series or anything in it. That all belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

**This is the Fourth installment of Ella's story, please read Glimpses, Sorcerer's Curse, and World of Secrets before this!**

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Owl Post

Total darkness had descended on the small neighborhood of Mongolia Crescent. The sleepy silence of night crept into all the houses leaving the residents of the area fast asleep in their beds. Only one young girl was left awake that night. She sat on a windowsill in the cool evening air. If anyone were to see her and tell her parents, she'd be in an enormous amount of trouble, but Ella couldn't find it in herself to care.

Ella loved to stay up late on these summer nights. The quiet atmosphere calmed her nerves and allowed her thoughts to blossom. Her dreams were as erratic as ever and their themes had taken a dramatic turn for the worst. Ella was frightened of the future and how soon it was heading towards her. In all her fourteen year, she had never felt its presence looming above her like she did now. As awful as those dreams were, she'd needed this silent time seeing as the days were absolutely horrid as well.

When the Hogwarts Express brought her back to the Muggle World, Ella was surprised to see her parents were once again there to pick her up. Every year, she had expected to travel home on her own, but they were always there. Ella figured this time would be different though –the looks in their eyes was enough to tell her that. She barely got to say goodbye to the twins before her father's hand had wrapped around her forearm and dragged her towards their car. The boys could only watch helplessly.

In the month that had passed since then, it seemed like fights broke out if Ella remained in a room for more than ten minutes. At one point, she dared to mention that she had nearly died during the school year and was completely crushed when her mother retorted that it would've been a much better alternative for her and her father if she had. No matter how much Ella wanted to write to her friends about all the horrors she had been facing in the summer, she refrained herself. They were her burden to bear and hers alone. Ella had been hoping this whole month that she'd be able to go to the Burrow for the last portion of the summer, but the letter lying on her bed informed her that her desires would remain unattainable.

_Dear Ella,_

_How's your summer going? We hope the Muggles aren't being too beastly to you. Ours had been pretty boring until a few days ago. WE WON THE DRAWING IN THE DAILY PROPHET! Figured we should get that out of the way, no use being dramatic when you can't see us. Mum and Dad have decided that we'll all visit Bill in Egypt. In fact, we're writing to you from there! It's really neat. We've sent a picture as well as the clipping, figured you might want to take a look yourself._

_Sorry that we won't get to see you over the holidays. We hate to think that your stuck there while we get to be here, but don't worry, we're going to bring you loads of neat things when we get back! The pyramids are super cool and the markets have all sorts of interesting things you'd enjoy. Mum sends her love…and Percy wanted us to tell you he got Head Boy. Mum's beside herself with glee, but in our humble opinion, Percy is becoming a real git with this going to his head. We wanted to shut him in a pyramid, but no such luck._

_We'll see you when we get back, or on the train to Hogwarts! We're both gorgeously tanned and you should be extremely jealous of that fact. Only, joking…we're burnt as red as our hair. _

_Your fantastic friends,_

_Gred and Forge _

Their letter made her happy and sad all at once when she read it. She was thrilled that they got to spend some time out of the country and with Bill, their older brother who Ella got to meet once during Christmas her first year, but she hated that she now had to spend more time fighting with her parents.

Ella read through the twins' letter many times, but no matter how well she could tell them apart, their handwriting still stumped her. She didn't dwell on that though, she was happy that she got a picture from them. Ella found herself staring at them all. The black a white photo showed her adopted family in front of a large pyramid all smiling like they were having the time of their life –they probably were too. More often than Ella was willing to admit, her eyes were drifting to Fred in the picture. She missed both twins, but her first and only crush was sorely missed.

A cool breeze lifted a few long strands of Ella's brown hair. She closed her sapphire eyes and enjoyed the gentle burst of air. Every night, she sat in her window thinking about the future and Sirius Black. It wouldn't be long before he appeared on her street. It wouldn't be tonight though, that much was obvious.

She moved out of the window and tried to not feel too dejected by Rowena's absence. Her owl and summer best friend was off delivering replies to all of her friends' letters. The barn owl wouldn't be back for a month at least. Poor thing would have to travel to Egypt for Fred and George's letter, but Ella wasn't too worried. Rowena was a brilliant owl and could definitely handle the trip.

Ella rested her head on her pillow wondering what awful things would appear to her tonight. She couldn't even tell whether she was seeing the past or present. There was no control anymore.

_The first place Ella visited was a cold, damp prison cell. She stood up quickly and found that she was locked in the cell with someone or something. Ella knew from the shrieking and sobbing that the cell had to be located in Azkaban, the wizard prison. Dementors were gliding through the corridors outside. Their rattling breaths elicited more hysteria from deep within Azkaban and even Ella shivered though she was something of a ghost. The mass in the corner of the cell was still and silent._

_For a moment, Ella wondered if the person was dead. She couldn't stand the idea of being in a cell with a corpse, but a closer look showed her that the thin figure was breathing very slowly. It had a mane of black hair and Ella wondered if she was with Sirius._

_As she inched towards the person, she began to realize that they couldn't be Sirius. The hair was much too long and the figure was too feminine. Ella felt uneasy about the whole situation. Who was this woman? Why was she in that particular cell in Azkaban?_

_Nearly a foot away, the figure flipped around to face her with wide eyes. They weren't panicked, they were insane. She leapt to her feet and paced around the cell muttering to herself. Ella couldn't pick up a single word that poured out of her mouth. Nevertheless, the woman would pause a moment to cackle to herself then assume her conversation once more. The dementors would stop by every so often and this woman would shy back from the door snarling at the creatures. But as soon as the dementor had glided away once more she'd resume the cycle._

_Ella watched in fear and anticipation. Never in all her life had she seen such a display, but all she could wonder was: Why am I seeing this now? She moved closer to the woman to get a better look. Her hand reached out tentatively to touch her shoulder._

_Everything went spiraling out of control._

_In the darkness of the changing vision, Ella heard screams of the utmost pain and fear. Ella felt like she was going to be sick. They were male and female and others crying out: "CRUCIO!" Ella shut her eyes tightly and felt faint. The screams grew and grew until at last there was silence. She opened her eyes to a Court Room of sorts. There were a few sobs, but no signs of torture anywhere. Ella trembled from head to toe._

_A door in the corner of the room slammed open and six dementors brought in four people. The four people were sat in chairs and chained to them. Ella looked between the two older men, a young one who looked beyond terrified, and the woman from the cell. She sat with pride –the chained chair was her throne, and she ruled the world. _

"_You have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law," a man's voice rang out from the area Ella was in. She didn't know who he was or the horribly upset woman beside him. "–So that we may pass judgment on you, for a crime so heinous –"_

"_Father! Father…please!" The young boy cried out from his chained chair. Ella blanched further, but the man continued loudly._

"_That we have rarely heard the like of it within this court. We have evidence against you. The four of you stand accused of capturing an Auror –Frank Longbottom," Ella gasped, " –and subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse, believing him to have knowledge of the present whereabouts of your exiled master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named –"_

_The boy was now frantic, "Father, I didn't! I didn't, I swear it, Father, don't send me back to the dementors –"_

_His "Father" bellowed over him, "You are further accused of using the Crucitus Curse on Frank Longbottom's wife, when he would not give you information. You planned to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to power, and to resume the lives of violence you presumably led while he was strong. I now ask the jury –"_

"_Mother! Mother, stop him, Mother, I didn't do it, it wasn't me!" The boy shrieked and the woman started sobbing whilst rocking back and forth. _

"_I now ask the jury to raise their hands if they believe, as I do, that these crimes deserve a life sentence in Azkaban!" He shouted and a group of witches and wizards on the right side of the dungeon raised their hands in unison. The people around Ella began to clap triumphantly and savagely. _

_Ella heard a man tell another, "Good to finally get Bellatrix Lestrange put away. She was the most deranged of them all –practically loved He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."_

"_Too bad it had to come at something like this. The Longbottoms were a fiercely brave family, they didn't deserve that kind of fate," came the other's reply._

_A woman behind Ella whispered tremulously, "They have a little boy too, Neville, I think. Can't even recognize him –I've heard. He's living with his grandmother now. Poor dear. Both of his parents will be in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for the rest of their days."_

_Tears were rolling down Ella's cheeks by this point. She had never known that Neville was practically an orphan. Everyone looked at Harry with pity because of what happened to his parents, but Neville had it worse. He grew up with parents that couldn't even realize he was their son –that must have had some impact on him today. _

_Bellatrix looked up to their judge and haughtily boasted, "The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!"_

_Ella glared hatefully towards the woman as she was whisked into a new vision of the future. The dragons had returned and were spitting flames at people Ella couldn't distinguish. The vision was frightful, of course, but compared to the last, it wasn't nearly as horrifying. She moved closer towards the idiots fighting the dragons, but just as she got close enough to feel the heat from the dragon, the dream thrust her away again. _

_All of the sudden, Ella felt light headed and faint. She looked around her and a thin layer of snow had covered the ground. One of the patches had a splatter of scarlet seeping into it. Her eyes widened for a moment and suddenly, she felt herself beginning to fall._

Ella shot up in her bed and bolted towards the bathroom across the hall where she lost all the contents in her stomach. It wasn't often that her dreams turned her stomach so much, but it had started happening more often than Ella cared to admit. Mrs. Weasley would have a fit when she caught sight of Ella. She'd be much too thin for her liking –that was certain.

The room around her still spun slightly and Ella shook with fear, anger, and sadness. What had Bellatrix Lestrange had to do with anything? Why did she need to know about her if she was locked away? Ella shuddered to imagine what damage a woman like that could do to the world. The other vision she had thought about many times but still had no explanation of. It was the last vision that frightened Ella nearly as much as the first. The scene was so idyllic, but that one spot of blood seemed to hold a subtle impact of things. Where had it come from? _Who_ had it come from?

She made her way downstairs after brushing her teeth. Her stomach was churning slightly, but Ella knew that she'd need to eat something before the day started. Unfortunately, her parents were also up that early in the morning as well. Neither of them made any comment about her getting sick if they'd heard it. Ella couldn't see how they hadn't, but she was willing to give them a small benefit of the doubt.

"Are you both going to work today?" Ella asked. Sometimes she considered just letting her parents ignore her completely and being as silent as they want her to be. Others she just hoped that at one point they'd realize that they were her parents and would become a happy family. Considering they hadn't been a happy family before, Ella knew her hopes were in vain. Still, she tried her best to be a family. Aside from fitting in and having friends, a family was all she had ever wanted.

"What sort of stupid question is that? We go to work every day, why would today be any different?" Ella's mother snapped at her.

Her father added, "We're in the middle of an important project and promotion, why would we put that in jeopardy for a day off?"

Ella looked down at the floor, "It was just a question."

"A moronic question deserves such a response." Her father jeered. Ella ate an apple and watched her parents leave together. The summer wasn't even half over, but she wished it was. Most days she sat at home alone doing her homework. As long as her parents were away she could sit at the table and pour over her text books with a parchment and quill in hand. Due to this promotion, her parents were always at work during the day and many nights they attended dinner parties of wealthy benefactors. Ella wasn't invited.

"I wish I were back at Hogwarts. I wish I was making jokes with Fred or George or Lee. I wish I had Katie, Angelina, or Alicia to talk to. I even wish I was stuck in a Divinations class with Cho or McLaggen. Anywhere but here. Anywhere and with anyone else. I hate this place." Ella whispered to the empty house one day while studying about Wizarding Laws of the past.

She looked down at the blurred words on the page, "I even wish Sirius would finally show up. I even wish that those events in the future would be nearer. Anything, but being here right now. I can't take it. I can't." But time did not speed up or slow down for anyone –not even a fourteen year old girl trapped in a house of hatred. A single tear splashed on the book as Ella once more grew silent and slowly went back to her studying.

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**A/N: Hello and Welcome to the new story! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! It was a little sad and dark, sorry if it depressed anyone. Please leave some comments about what you'd like to see in this story! :) **


	2. Chapter 2: Aunt Marge's Big Mistake

***I Don't Own Harry Potter***

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Aunt Marge's Big Mistake

Summer was trudging on in an unfortunate cycle of nightmares and horrible encounters. At more than one moment, Ella considered running away, but with Fred and George in Egypt there wasn't much of a place to go. Katie, Angelina, and Alicia were all out of the country at some Quidditch match their parents were taking them to. The girls all stated they'd bring stuff back for Ella, but they only had so many tickets. Ella was fine with that, though. She understood. Even Lee was out of the country, but he assured her he wouldn't be having much fun either. According to her dreadlocked friend, his summer was to be spent taking care of all his grandmother's cats in Ireland. Ella remained at her house and tried to be a good little witch. Though, her attempts at being a family lessened dramatically after a less than kind outburst from her parents.

It was a few days before Ella believed Sirius would arrive on her street. She had no way of being certain, she just knew it could be any day now. Her parents were coming home for a few hours before they'd go back to work to conduct some research that night. Ella wasn't informed that they were on their way home. Her homework was littered across their dining room table and she was focused on an especially pressing report about the difference between Animagi and Metamorphmagi. She was nearly positive she'd receive full marks on this. Not only was she an Animagus, last year she succeeded in becoming a fox, but she also had known a Metamorphmagus for a brief time her first year.

"What is all of this?" Her father's disgusted voice rang out in the room. Ella jolted as though she had received an electric shock.

"It-It's my homework from school," Ella stammered. She could stand up to Allison, bullies at school, and even a teacher or two, but when it came to her parents she still had problems with standing up for herself. Even her largest burst of courage wasn't enough when they swooped down on her all at once.

Her mother took over, "That much is obvious. What I want to know is why that filth is on our table? We've made it clear that we don't approve of any sort of activity pertaining to that school in our house. How many times have we told you that we're being gracious even letting you live here?"

"But if I don't do it here than I'll fail the assignments," Ella argued against their logic-only rules.

With a glare her father retorted, "And we are supposed to care about that? You're going to that school because we cannot stop you. Those people would come to our house and make a scene. We can't have them stirring up rumors about this family. You've already brought enough problems for a lifetime on us."

Ella looked in disbelief at the two, "Why can't you accept who I am and what I can do? Most parents are thrilled to know they have children who can do magic. Why can't you be like them? This is absolutely ludicrous!"

"Magic isn't logical. We've spent a large portion of our lives studying against the existence of magic. You may think we're being unfair, but you were unexpected as is. It seems highly unfair to us that something we hadn't even planned on should undo everything we spent our lives building," Mr. Worthington quipped.

Mrs. Worthington further explained, "We are people of science and you are a child made of nonsense. We never had room for such things; we even tried to turn you away from them. It would seem that our attempts to make a daughter we could be proud of failed. In our minds, it's perfectly noticeable that you were never our daughter. There must have been a mistake as we told you before. It must not even make sense in your world. How could two perfectly normal people make a daughter like you? None of it lines up."

"So that's it then? I'm not your daughter because I'm different from you. Because I add a new element into your boring lives, you're going to hate me?"

"Our lives are perfect the way they are. They were even more perfect before you but accidents happen. You're lucky that everyone knows we have a daughter or else we'd never even keep you," her mother snarled.

"You're the ones who had me! I never asked for any of this. Do you think I want to be stuck in a world where my own parents don't accept me?" Ella shouted with tears pricking her eyes.

Her father kept eye contact with her, "Do you think we want a daughter who's abnormal? We never asked for this either."

"I'm your daughter!" Ella yelled at them.

Their eyes flashed at her. Mrs. Worthington shouted back, "You are no daughter of ours –that has been made quite clear by all the circumstances!"

Ella slammed her books closed and retreated to her room. She remained locked in there until the chug of an engine alerted her to her parents' departure. After they had gone, Ella decided to go outside to get some air. The tears had dried from her face by now so she wouldn't alert any prying neighbors about her less than perfect circumstances. She was barely out the door when she noticed a large black dog padding down the street.

She dashed to the front of the alley way where she had seen their meeting and stood in anticipation. The dog seemed to consider turning around for a moment then slowly came closer to her. The sky around them was ablaze with the setting sun and Ella smiled slightly to the dog. He didn't know it yet, but she already knew who and what he was.

"Hullo there," she whispered gently. The dog stopped and looked at her in bewilderment. "I saw you coming from down the street, it looks like you've been travelling for quite a while –you're skin and bones. If you wait here I'll bring you a treat." Sirius wagged his tail at her as though he were an ordinary dog. She worried for but a second that he was –but she could positively feel that this dog was Sirius Black. Ella rushed in her house and grabbed a bunch of different foods. She threw some sandwiches together, a slice of left over pizza, and anything else she could grab quickly into a small bag.

When Ella returned outside she looked around feeling her stomach plummet. Sirius was nowhere to be seen. Her grip on the bag tightened slightly as she glanced up and down the street. Ella found herself wondering if he was hiding somewhere. He couldn't have completely disappeared in the short time she was in her house. She peered around the alley corner and saw Sirius sitting there calmly.

"I thought you'd left. That wasn't very funny, but I suppose you don't care stay too still. You look like a dog with a job to do," Ella told him setting out the food. Sirius looked at the food with wide, hungry eyes. Ella smiled slightly, "Well, go on. Have some!" Sirius practically dived into the food in front of him and Ella couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

She rested her back against the alley wall and sat across from Sirius. Ella watched Sirius with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. He was way too thin and absolutely filthy, but after a few minutes, Ella was able to get over all that. She just learned to breathe through her mouth for the time being. Wet dog had never been something Ella had been too fond of. Part of her wanted to begin talking with the dog, but she was sure that he wouldn't hear a word of it over his ravenous eating. What was she even supposed to say? _Hello, I can see the future so I know you're not really a dog but a fugitive from the law. Don't worry though, I'm not going to tell anyone because I also know that you didn't really do it! _–That actually wasn't so bad, but Ella still couldn't see it going over perfectly. The words from her time being Petrified raced back to her, but the sun was still dying in the clouds, it wasn't the same scene.

For a moment, Ella panicked. What if she had accidentally altered the future by making things happen sooner than they should've? Ella closed her eyes and rested her head against the rough bricks behind her. A scene was slowly playing out under her eyelids. She straightened up from her position but kept her eyes shut tightly in an attempt to make the vision more perceptible.

The vision was mute, but Ella could see from the gaping mouths that the occupants of the room were all shouting. A very large woman was growing larger by the second –she seemed to be inflating. She floated like a giant balloon, but who was she? Ella glanced at the other occupants of the room. Harry's Aunt and Uncle stood yelling and attempting to put the woman back on the ground. Ella knew they'd have no such luck, they were dealing with magic. Those Muggles wouldn't be able to do a thing to help that woman. Harry was nowhere in sight, but it didn't take a genius to guess that he was the cause of the magical mayhem.

"_Who are you and why did Harry turn you into a horrid human blimp?" _Ella thought looking at the woman on the ceiling. She could see a small scrawl of words outlining the woman. The script read: Harry's Aunt Marge Dursley, insulted Potter family, tormented Harry as much as other Dursleys. Ella shrugged, by the sound of it she deserved to be in her current position.

A heavy voice weighed into Ella's vision, the first sound to come out of it, _"They go and get themselves killed in a car crash (drunk, I expect)!" _Ella's fists clenched in anger, how could someone say that about a boy's deceased parents? It was unfathomable.

"_COME BACK IN HERE! COME BACK AND PUT HER RIGHT!"_ Roared Harry's uncle. Ella jumped slightly at the sound. It was beyond anger and directed wholly towards Harry who had his belongings with him. Harry kicked open his trunk and snatched out his wand. Rage contorted his features and Ella shivered for a small moment at how much fury one young boy could possess.

"_She deserved it. She deserved what she got. You keep away from me," _Harry snapped at his Uncle pointing his wand towards the beefy man. His chest was heaving with anger,_ "I'm going –I've had enough." _Harry then wheeled around and went through the door behind him leaving chaos in his wake. Ella watched with closed eyes as he walked and walked until at last he reached her street. It was dark out, the kind of nights Ella enjoyed. He caught his breath on a small wall only a short distance from where she was seeing the vision. As Ella watched the future unfold in her mind she noticed the similarities of when Harry would blow up his aunt to the present day. It was eerily similar.

So similar in fact, Ella realized with a jolt, that it'd be impossible for it to be any other day. Harry was going to be on her street at any moment and unknowingly catch a small glimpse of Sirius in this very alley. Her eyes snapped open. Sirius stared at her confused. She had no idea how long she had been lost in her own mind, but the dark shadows that the street lamps thrust across them gave her a small idea.

"Listen to me very carefully. You need to stay here in the shadows and be very quiet for the next few moments. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. I'll get more food for you, but you'll be extremely glad you listened to me," said Ella. She knew he could comprehend every word she said unlike other dogs. She knew Sirius would want to see his best friend's son. Ella had heard so many people say that Harry looked exactly like his father, but with his mother's eyes. Sirius would probably want to see him longer, but Ella didn't think he'd get more than a few moments to watch him.

Knowing deep down that Sirius would stay and hearing foot falls on the pavement from a short distance away, Ella rushed to get inside her own house. The alley was best visible through the window in her upstairs bedroom. Ella rushed up the stairs taking them two at a time and flung herself into her bedroom. She didn't know if Harry would look into any of the windows so she quickly pulled the curtains around so only a small gap would be open. She stood in a silent vigil waiting for the Boy Who Lived to descend on her street.

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**A/N: What did you think? Things will definitely be interesting next chapter when The Knight Bus visits Ella's street! Please review! :) Reviews make writers happy!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Knight Bus

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the series. **

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The Knight Bus

Harry appeared on the street shortly after Ella took refuge behind the curtain in her room. He looked extremely flustered and upset as he rested against the wall panting. Ella watched the boy who was a year younger than her as his emotions shifted from anger to fear. He looked utterly lost among the rows of empty houses. Ella stepped away from the window for a moment as his eyes drifted over the street –seeing who was up and about. Ella couldn't give away where she lived now of all times. She yearned to show Harry Potter that he wasn't completely alone in his part of the Muggle world, but Ella was too worried about the future to allow herself the comfort of a nearby friend.

His eyes fell to his wand which was still clutched tightly in his hand. Harry seemed to be weighing his options, and Ella wished she could read minds instead of see the future. His features were drawn in an accepting sadness. He looked like he had made his mind up, but wasn't sure he liked its outcome. Ella couldn't imagine what he was contemplating, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to. She watched him slowly ease off the wall and rummage through his trunk for something. Ella would place money of his Invisibility Cloak, but she couldn't see what good it would do for him to have that on an already empty street.

All of the sudden, Harry jerked upwards. Ella watched him carefully wondering what could've spooked him, until she saw it for herself. Sirius was beginning to creep out of the shadows towards Harry. Ella had to lean away from the window once again to avoid being seen by the boy who was looking around for something or someone that may be watching him. He bent over his trunk once more only to bolt upright with a threatening stance. His wand was held in a defensive position in front of him as though he was preparing for an attack.

Ella blinked the light out of her eyes after Harry unexpectedly lit his wand. He glanced around the house near the alley looking for the cause of his distress –though Ella knew he wouldn't find it in the house since its occupants spent their summer months in Majorca. Ella bit her bottom lip in anxiety as Harry peered into the area she knew Sirius was. Ella physically gasped and threw her curtains back to get a better look as Harry tumbled backwards into a gutter. She practically hung herself out of her window to try and get a closer look of if he was alright.

BANG!

A blinding light nearly made Ella fall out of the window as a giant bus burst into view. Harry rolled out of the street just in time to avoid being crushed by the tires and disappeared from Ella's view. Ella gaped at the triple-decker, violently purple bus that now sat on her street. She'd never seen anything like it, but she assumed the bus wasn't seen by many people. No one even stirred in the houses and she knew for a fact that her next door neighbors were extremely light sleepers.

A professional voice rang up to her window from the street, "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this eve –"

Though she couldn't see his face or tell his age, she was happy that Stan Shunpike had appeared on her street. Ella figured it may come in handy one day to know there was an emergency witch and wizard bus to transport people places. She enjoyed the new knowledge about her world, but was curious as to why Stan stopped. Not being able to see behind the bus was a real pain.

"What were you doin' down there?" Stan's voice rang out once again, but it didn't have its previous professional demeanor. Ella slid out of her window and onto the rooftop ledge. It was a flat piece of shingles and wood that jutted out of the house a few feet right under her window sill. She'd only done this twice before when she was about six. The first time she'd fallen and somehow landed lightly on the ground. The second was her attempting to recreate that moment then breaking her arm when she fell heavily into a bush. Ella's only hope was to hear things better from the perch, not to get herself killed.

"Fell over," Harry stated annoyed. Ella tried not to laugh. She could hear the two of them perfectly from her spot, but was still unable to see them. He fingers gripped the edge of the roof tightly as she sat on the front of her house.

"'Choo fall over for?" Stan sniggered, leading Ella to believe he wasn't very old. She couldn't imagine a grown man laughing at that.

Harry's indignant voice rose, "I didn't do it on purpose!" There was a pause.

"'Choo lookin' at?"

"There was a big black thing…like a dog…but massive…" Harry tried explaining and Ella's eyes widened. He had seen Sirius in the alley, and Sirius had certainly seen him. Ella desperately wanted to speak to Sirius, but she refrained from running to the alley in an attempt to remain unnoticed for the time being. Plus, she'd need to be careful getting off the roof.

"Woss that on your 'ead?" Stan stated abruptly.

Harry's reply was instant, "Nothing."

Stan Shunpike pried further, "Woss your name?"

"Neville Longbottom," Harry blurted. Ella was surprised that of all names he could use for an alias, Neville's was the one he used. Harry asked, "So –so this bus…did you say it goes _anywhere_?"

The conductor left his questioning be and proudly proclaimed, "Yep anywhere you'd like, long's it's on land. Can't do nuffink underwater. 'Ere, you _did _flag us down, dincha? Stuck out your wand 'and, dincha?" Ella took note of the useful information she was being handed once more. Stick out your wand hand and an emergency bus comes to get you –perfect.

Harry, though Ella knew it was a lie, assured, "Yes. –Listen, how much would it be to get to London?"

The other quickly informed, "Eleven sickles, but for firteen you get 'ot chocolate, and for fifteen you get an 'ot water bottle an' a toofbrush in the color of your choice." There were sounds of the two boarding the bus with Harry's things and Ella scrambled back into her house. She rushed through the rooms and stood on the doorstep just as another BANG echoed through the deserted streets. The bus had vanished.

Ella wasted no time rushing across to the alley to find Sirius. When she reached the enclosure, she was met with a throaty growl. Ella slowed dramatically but knew what had to be done. She should've known all along that this would happen. The future has a funny way of always going as she saw it, even moments like this.

With her hands raised in surrender, Ella inched forward calmly whispering, "It's alright; I'm not going to hurt you. You need help, and I'm here to help you Padfoot. I know you're not to blame and you need to trust me like I'm trusting you right now or you'll never achieve what you're setting out to do." Sirius paused for a moment before relaxing and slowly moving towards her.

"Go back into the alley, there's enough magic already going on here that you should be able to transform without getting me in trouble," Ella urged and followed behind the dog. She watched as the creature slowly grew into the man from her vision. Sirius Black was bone-thin and his skin had a waxy pallor. He took on the appearance of a man who was once handsome, but since then had become a ghost of his former self in nearly every way. Ella stood her ground despite the gruesome looking man.

A moment of awkward silence stretched between the two before Sirius broke in, "Well, I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Sirius Black, but it would appear you already knew that."

Ella nodded, "I'm Ella Worthington. I did know who you are, but as I said before, I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Why? I'm a convicted murderer who just escaped from Azkaban to supposedly kill Harry Potter for destroying Voldemort," Sirius was surprised to see Ella didn't flinch at the name.

She shrugged, "They say you're out to kill Harry, but you just let him escape from under your nose. That wouldn't make much sense. Besides, it's Pettigrew who killed all those people; we both know that."

Sirius gave a look of utter disbelief, "And how would you know that?"

"Because I've seen it, and I've met that cursed rat before. I can't believe no one ever noticed it. He's been living a life of ratty luxury for the past twelve years of his life as a pet. That _thing _knows my secret even. If he were to escape and go to his master, I'd be as good as dead," Ella spat finally voicing her disgust. She'd thought long and hard about Scabbers and Pettigrew only to come to the conclusion that he could ruin her life. She'd remembered dreaming that Dumbledore didn't believe Voldemort was as gone as everyone liked to think. After the diary incident, Ella had become weary of the dark wizard as well. She was afraid of what a man like that could do with an ability like hers.

The man cut into her musings, "So I take it you know the family that the rat is from?"

Ella sighed, "He's wormed his way into the Weasley family. Their youngest son, Ron, is Harry's age and currently the owner of the rat."

"How did you know about all this? You said you've seen it, but how can that be possible when you're this young? You would've had to been one when I was imprisoned," Sirius scoffed at her.

Her eyes flashed, "I was two. I'm a year older than Harry and I can see this sort of things even if no one else can. I've been told I have the most powerful Seer blood that most people have ever seen. I'm not supposed to tell people this, but seeing as you're on the run I figure it's safe to let you in on that secret."

"But I was convicted in the past, how would you be able to see that? Seers see the future, not the past."

"The future and past lie in one another. To truly know what the future entails, you have to look towards the past. I may be still learning, but I still know my abilities well enough," Ella told him while repeating Aiden's words. Her thoughts lingered briefly on the man who guided her during her long period of petrification.

"You said you wanted to help me…" Sirius prompted.

Ella grinned, "Well, I like to know that the good guys are winning. If you're after Pettigrew then technically speaking, you're the good guy and he's the bad guy. It was stupid to even go after him, but I can't change the past so I'll just have to help with the future."

Sirius found himself grinning at the girl. He had to admit that she had a spark in her eye that reminded him of Lily and maybe even a bit of himself. She was a determined young woman, but still a bit mischievous –Sirius guessed. If she could help at all, it wouldn't be so bad of a friendship. She seemed trustworthy enough and knew that he wasn't guilty of those crimes. There was something oddly familiar about her though, and he couldn't place it. He searched her face for a sign of recognition and found it within her deep, bright sapphire eyes.

"Did you live in another house before this one?" He asked suddenly.

Ella was taken aback, "Yes, when I was really little. My parents moved shortly after a gas pipe exploded a few streets away. They seemed to think it wasn't safe anymore. Why? How could you possibly know that?

Sirius looked at the girl in shock, "Well, I never believed I would see you again."

"Again?"

"Just before I went off to kill Peter out of anger and betrayal, I stumbled upon a young girl. You say you were two? She looked to be about two and had great big blue eyes. I tried to get her to go into her house, but she wouldn't go. I wondered why her parents weren't even watching her –"

"Well, if this is me, my parents wouldn't have cared. They still don't so it'd make sense that I were outside without any supervision," Ella told him bitterly.

Sirius frowned but continued his story, "Like I said, I told the girl to go inside; she was like a reminder of Harry to me. I kept thinking about childhood innocence, and that little girl was only bringing the fact I'd never be Harry's guardian after I killed Pettigrew, but even she couldn't deter me. Then, she said the most peculiar thing: _Doggie no get rat_. She repeated it so many times and she held this intensity in her eyes like she knew exactly what she was saying and what I was about to do. I see that intensity in your eyes at this very moment."

"So, I warned you not to attack Pettigrew then? Seems you should've listened to me after all," Ella smirked at him.

"You were two years old at the time, I doubt you can even remember that!" Sirius retorted.

She shrugged, "Either way, I told you so."

"Unbelievable," Sirius muttered with a shake of his head.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. It's not every day that you find out you warned a convicted murderer, who didn't murder anyone, to not murder the people he didn't murder when you were two," Ella babbled.

He laughed for the first time in twelve years, "When you put it that way it nearly sounds sane."

"ELLA!" A bellow went out from her door step. Sirius looked at Ella who closed her eyes as a grimace sealed itself on her face.

"That would be my parents," Ella whispered to him sadly.

Sirius looked back towards where the yells were coming from, "I should probably transform then." Ella nodded.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," Ella whispered to the dog before running out of the alley. Sirius edged towards the end of the area to get a closer look at watch was going on.

A man wrenched Ella into the house muttering, "What were you doing in that alley? Do you think we need the neighbors questioning what wild and immature things our daughter is doing? It's pitch dark out. Haven't you caused enough problems already?" The door was forced shut with a loud smash. Sirius whimpered slightly at the house and its inhabitants.

He had wanted to leave that night and head north towards Hogwarts, but after meeting Ella, he couldn't leave without saying goodbye to the girl. He could certainly see himself in her. She was so young and lived in an unfriendly household. That bellow reminded him of his dear mother. Sirius curled up deep in the alley to go to sleep for the night.

_Ella stood in a flurry of movement, but she wasn't able to pick up on any of it. The dream was so alike to so many others, yet a glaring contrast was moving about the dream. She fought to decipher what was so different about this dream, but it wouldn't show itself. Ella walked along the lines of blurred visions and tried to ignore the swirling contents that were sure make her head spin. A figure moved through some images several feet in front of her. _

_Not knowing who it was, Ella raced forward. The silhouette darted in and out of the stream of images, but Ella kept up with them. She began to even gain some ground and get closer to them. She realized the shadow was a man and her heart leapt. It had to be Aiden, it was the only explanation. He'd be the one to lead her through her subconscious. The cloak that covered him head to toe flapped in his wake as he rushed away. She followed Aiden around until he jumped into a vision. Ella didn't hesitate to follow him into the frame believing that no harm could ever come from Aiden. _

_But it wasn't Aiden she had followed. _

_The man who stood before her let his hood fall from his bald head and whirled on Ella. He glared at her with red slits for eyes. Lord Voldemort was utterly snake like and appeared to be in all his glory. Ella felt petrified where she stood, and remained there as the man circled around her as though she were his prey. _

"_So you are the future teller?" His voice was high and cold, like the laugh she heard from Tom Riddle the year before._

"_What do you care?" Ella found herself replying. She watched him in a mixture of fear, disgust, and anger. _

_He gave that infamous laugh, "You'd do well to behave in my presence." _

"_This is a dream, what do I have to fear from you in a dream?"_

"_Dreams only last so long before reality sets in. You can feel reality coming nearer, can't you? It's creeping up on you like a hound on a fox," he hissed in her ear. _

_Ella's teeth gritted, "The future hasn't arrived yet, there's still time to figure out what will happen and stop it –stop you."_

"_You cannot stop the future, Ella. You cannot stop time."_

The sun was beating down on Ella when she woke up drenched in a fine layer of sweat. Both her parents were gone and Ella took a moment to herself to wash up and make Sirius a bag of food to take with him on his journey to Hogwarts. She wished she could sneak him on the train, but the future showed him walking there. Ella couldn't disrupt the future, but she could at least give Sirius a more bearable trip.

He was waiting for her when she reached the mouth of the alley. She offered him a small smile, but was still very shaken from her dream the night before. Having Voldemort show up in a dream and speak to her was a very bad thing. Ella tried to shove it to the back of her mind at the moment. No use dwelling on dreams when the present was in front of her.

"I've packed as many nonperishable meals as I could in here. You should be able to make your journey now," Ella told him sliding a sling over the animal's shoulders. Sirius looked at her with wide eyes. "I hope you have good luck making it and that you like the food, but you don't strike me as the picky type. Maybe when you reach Hogwarts I'll be able to talk to you." Sirius gave her a severe look. "Alright, alright, it's likely you won't get to see me again. So, good luck Padfoot. Take care."

Sirius gave her a sad look and nuzzled his head onto her shoulder in a dog-like hug. Ella wrapped her arms around him and smiled into his fur. Ella hoped that the two would meet again, but she wasn't sure that'd be possible. At the very least, he wouldn't see Ella again, just her fox form if Ella had her way. She stood on the sidewalk and watched as the dog made its way down the street until he disappeared and the Wizarding World had once again left Ella alone.

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**A/N: There you go! The next chapter will be up very shortly, but in the meantime, don't forget to review! It always perpetuates the publishing of the next chapter! :)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Leaky Cauldron

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, I do not.**

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The Leaky Cauldron

It wasn't long after Sirius left that Ella decided to take a trip to Diagon Alley so she could purchase some school supplies. Her parents were gone for the day, but Ella had coaxed them into giving the necessary money under the threat that they'd be under heavy scrutiny if she went to school without the required materials. About two weeks after Sirius had arrived on her street, Ella took a taxi to the magic shopping center. It was early in the day and the Muggle shops were only just beginning to open.

Ella made her way through the Leaky Cauldron while keeping an eye out for someone she might know. She was doing her shopping a bit early this year since she received her letter the morning before. It was pleasing to see that there were absolutely no Gilderoy Lockhart textbooks this year, and there would be no Gilderoy Lockhart either. In the backyard behind the Leaky Cauldron, Ella pulled out her wand and tapped the third brick from the left above the trash bin. She watched with a wide smile as the archway to Diagon Alley opened for her.

The streets were already filled with bustling witches and wizards looking for items they or their children needed. Ella maneuvered around the crowds of people trying to make it to Gringotts, the wizard bank. She quickly exchanged her money before making her way around the streets to go to Flourish and Blotts. As she moved Ella noticed a mess of black hair out of the corner of her eye. Knowing she'd have all day to retrieve her supplies, she changed her path to lead her to Harry who was sitting outside of an Ice Cream Parlor.

"Hey there, Harry!" She trilled as she made her way to his table.

He looked up quickly then smiled, "Hi Ella, are you here to get your things?"

She nodded, "Just got my list this morning and needed to get out of the Muggle World. How's your Aunt Marge by the way?"

"I imagine back to the way she was before," Harry groaned.

Ella grinned and heaved a dramatic sigh, "That's too bad, I'm sure she would've been much nicer if she'd remained a hot air balloon. No use having someone so full of air if they can't float." She winked at Harry who couldn't help but laugh.

"So have you heard from the twins at all?" Harry questioned her, probably hoping that the Weasleys were coming home sooner. Ella couldn't blame him, she wanted it too.

Downcast she told him, "Only the one letter where they told me they were in Egypt. They'll be back soon enough for school, though."

Harry smiled slightly, "Thank goodness that's starting soon. I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts and everyone there."

"Me either, I've had enough of the Muggle World for this holiday," Ella agreed.

"I'm living in the Leaky Cauldron right now, so I'm done with Muggles until next summer," Harry stated brightly.

Ella laughed, "Maybe I'll have to join you. That sounds a lot more fun than staying at my house for the next week, but I don't think I could afford the room prices."

"Harry! Who's your friend?" A man said coming out with a sundae in his hand. He smiled kindly at Ella before setting down the ice cream in front of Harry.

"Mr. Fortescue, this is Ella Worthington. She's a friend from my school and going into her fourth year there. Ella, this is Florean Fortescue, the owner of the ice cream parlor," Harry introduced the two. Ella shook hands with the business owner.

"Here, I'll bring you out some ice cream while you and Harry catch up," Mr. Fortescue told her happily.

She shook her head, "That's alright really. I'm fine, sir."

"No, no! On the house, my dear!" And so he went back in the shop and returned a few minutes later with a large sundae. Ella figured he might be a kindred spirit of Mrs. Weasley's because of the size of the sundae. He must have thought Ella looked much too thin like her mother-figure always did.

Harry and Ella sat out in the warm sunlight and ate their ice cream for the next hour. A couple people stopped to say hi to them, but other than that the two were on their own. Ella found it was nice to talk to Harry without any visions to hinder her. She even helped him on some of his homework since she had taken the class the year before.

"I'm nervous about taking Divinations, would you say it's hard?" He asked at one point.

Ella shook her head and replied earnestly, "It's a bit difficult until you get the hang of it, but nothing to worry about, honestly. The class is almost a bit of a joke. You'll see when you go through a class or two."

He smiled at her and then Ella said goodbye. She continued on her task to buy her books and other necessary items. The bag she brought with her was weighed down by all of the things she'd need for the school year. It was with a heavy heart that Ella returned to the Muggle World, and to her parents.

She stepped into her house and was pleased that her parents were still at work. Ella hopped up the steps to her bedroom and received the second delight of the day. Rowena, her pet barn owl, hooted happily at her from her cage. Ella smiled at her friend and raced over to the pet she hadn't seen in a long while.

"Rowena! I'm so glad your back, I've got you some more owl treats from Diagon Alley today. Have you got replies?" Ella asked her. Rowena hooted and motioned her head towards the letters sitting on her bed. Ella fetched her a treat then moved over to take a look at the letters from her friends.

_Dear Ella,_

_I hope your summer is going well, I've been learning quite a bit during mine, which might surprise you. For instance, I am not a cat person. Not in the slightest. I'm hoping that summer comes to an end soon because I would take a year's worth of Potions with Snape over another second with these smelly fur balls. Hope I get to see you and everyone else soon._

_Your friend,_

_Lee_

Ella couldn't help but laugh at her friend's predicament. Of course Lee's letter would be lighthearted and funny. He probably assumed that she'd need something like that knowing her parents, and he was certainly correct. She turned to the next one.

_Ella,_

_We can't even begin to explain what an excellent match it was, but you'll get full details on the train in a week. We're hoping that your holiday is going well and can't wait to see you again! We've heard the twins are abroad in Egypt; Angelina keeps the photo of the Weasleys under her pillow at night so she can look at George when she wakes up. (She's angry we included that, but she can't erase it and we're certainly not starting over.) Things are starting to die down here, and we're about ready to head home to get some supplies in Diagon Alley. We'd also like to rest a bit before the train takes us back to never ending homework. _

_Hope to see you very, very soon,_

_Alicia, Katie, and Angelina_

She grinned at the fact George was still Angelina's crush. It was a silly, school-girl thought, but Ella entertained the idea of them being sister-in-laws one day. It wasn't likely to happen, but Ella enjoyed the thought nonetheless. Finally, she turned to the letter with the twins' scrawl all over it.

_Hello Ella,_

_We're about ready to leave Egypt, only a few days left as of right now. Mum and Dad say we're going to stay at the Leaky Cauldron the night before we leave for Hogwarts. We're going to get our supplies then too. Mum wanted to know if you'd like to stay there and then go with us to the station. If it's alright with your parents, that is. _

_We really hope we can see you. It feels like it's been forever and we have your gift like we promised. You'd get to stay in Ginny's room if you stayed and with the money we got from the drawing, it wouldn't be a burden at all. We'd all love to see you and have dinner with you. _

_Your friends,_

_Gred and Forge_

Similarly to the last letter, Ella ended reading it with a smile on her face. It was impossible to not smile when Gred and Forge sent her a letter. Her twins were always the best medicine to her depressed moods. Ella wasn't even sure she'd have to ask. She'd just head out to Diagon Alley with a note to her parents about returning for next summer.

The next few days passed in a dull blur of visions and solitude. Ella's things were already packed and Rowena remained in Ella's room all day before hunting during the night. Ella sat on her window sill dreaming of seeing the twins again. She'd run up to them both and they'd hug her like they always did. She tried to mentally prepare herself for not blushing when Fred gave her one, but she knew all her preparations would be in vain. Everything was going as well as Ella expected until one night when her parents came home from a long day of work. Her father called her downstairs, and to say Ella was surprised was an understatement. They hadn't talked since he dragged her away from Sirius.

"We're going out of town tomorrow," her father stated as if there were no reason to sugarcoat it.

Ella looked up at him and shrugged, "So?"

"Watch your tone," he mother lashed out. "We won't be here when you leave, and we needed to tell you that you have to come home for the winter holidays."

Her mouth gaped open at her parents and she complained, "Why should I have to come home? Why would you even want me here?"

"We don't want you here, but we have an important dinner to attend on Christmas Eve and the whole family had to be there. That includes you as well."

"But –"

"No buts. You're going and that is final," her father commanded and before Ella could argue anymore, both people had left the room.

Feeling a strong urge to kick something, Ella stormed up to her room and threw herself onto her bed. Now she'd be returning home sooner than expected and spending one of the most family-oriented holidays with the people she considered furthest from her family. She hid in her room until her parents had left the next day. There was some money on the table for her to take a taxi to the station the next day, but Ella had no intention of spending the night in an empty house. She called a taxi as soon as she knew her parents were gone for good.

The journey to the Leaky Cauldron was as uneventful as ever. The only difference from the time before was the odd looks the driver gave her as she brought Rowena inside the car. When the driver sped off, Ella entered into the pub and found Mr. Weasley sitting at one of the tables looking through a copy of the _Daily Prophet_.

"Mr. Weasley!" She called out while trying to pull her things through the door. Some witches shot her a dirty look for blocking the doorway with her things.

He smiled kindly to her, "Ella, it's so good to see you." Mr. Weasley strode over to her and helped take her trunk. Rowena hooted annoyed at Ella for accidentally knocking her cage against the wall.

Ella muttered, "Sorry, extra treats tonight to make up for it." Rowena hooted happily at the arrangement. She followed her father-figure up to the rooms and he ended up opening a door that took her to where Ginny was staying. They left her trunk then went back downstairs to wait for the rest of the Weasleys.

"Had a good holiday, Ella?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Not really, but I'm alright," she responded. She noticed the newspaper, "Anything good in there today?"

Mr. Weasley shook his head, "Can't seem to find anything worth reading in here. It's almost becoming as worthless as the Quibbler, mind you, the Quibbler holds more merit than half the things Rita Skeeter writes." Ella settled into a chair and listened to Mr. Weasley as he ranted about the ruckus this Skeeter woman caused the Ministry on a daily basis. Ella was just happy to be back with someone who she knew cared about her. After a while he handed Ella another copy of the paper and she read an article or two while he looked through his own. Barely any time passed before Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the area.

"Harry! How are you?" Mr. Weasley smiled setting down the newspaper. The trio sat beside Ella at the table.

Harry answered, "Fine thanks." Then he noticed the picture of Sirius on the cover of the paper. "They still haven't caught him, then?"

Mr. Weasley looked extremely grave, "No –they've pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far." Ella relaxed slightly, but feigned a face of disappointment about the prisoner alluding capture.

"Would we get a reward if we caught him?" Asked Ron excitedly, "It'd be good to get some more money –"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron. Black's not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old wizard. It's the Azkaban guards who'll get him back, you mark my words," Mr. Weasley warned them. Ella had to fight not to smirk. Mr. Weasley was right that a thirteen-year-old wizard wouldn't catch Sirius, but a fourteen-year-old witch already talked to him and fed him. No one could know that though, and no one would because at that moment, Mrs. Weasley walked in closely followed by Percy, Ginny, and the twins.

Ginny's face flushed at the sight of Harry and she mumbled, "Hello." Her eyes never wandered to him and she moved to give Ella a hug. The two girls turned and watched Percy greet Harry.

"Harry. How nice to see you," Percy greeted with a solemn handshake. Ella and Ginny caught each other's eye and tried not to laugh at Percy's odd behavior.

"Hello, Percy," Harry said with laughter dancing at the edge of his voice.

"I hope you're well?" Percy inquired rather pompously.

Ella leaned towards Ginny and whispered in her ear, "This is just painful to watch…"

Harry, looking just as uncomfortable as everyone watching it felt replied, "Very well, thanks –"

Fred, deciding enough was enough, elbowed Percy out of the way, "Harry!" His voice was filled with proper pompousness and he bowed deeply. "Simply _splendid _to see you, old boy –"

George pushed Fred away and grabbed Harry's hand copying, "Marvelous! Absolutely spiffing!"

Ella and Ginny were giggling by now at the two boys. Fred winked at Ella. Percy, on the other hand, scowled at both twins.

"That's enough, now," Mrs. Weasley told the twins in an attempt to keep Percy calm.

Fred wheeled around and seized Mrs. Weasley's hand, "Mum! How really corking to see you –"

"I said that's enough!" Mrs. Weasley told him setting down her bags in a chair. She turned to Harry, "Hello, Harry, dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?" She motioned toward the shining silver badge pinned to Percy's chest. "Second Head Boy in the family!"

"And last," Ella heard Fred mutter under his breath. George gave a nearly inconspicuous nod.

Mrs. Weasley frowned, "I don't doubt that. I notice they haven't made you two prefects."

"What do we want to be prefects for?" George asked. His face twisted in revulsion, "It'd take all the fun out of life." Ginny giggled and Ella tried to hide her laughter as well.

"You want to set a better example for your sister!" Mrs. Weasley snapped at the two of them.

"Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother," said Percy loftily. "I'm going up to change for dinner…" And without so much as a glance in Ella's direction he went upstairs.

Ginny shook her head, "I may have other brothers for an example, but he's certainly not the one I want to take after."

"Ella!" Mrs. Weasley said suddenly. In all the commotion with the twins teasing Percy, she must not have seen her. "It's so good to see you." Mrs. Weasley bustled over to her and enveloped her in one of the hugs that Ella loved.

She blushed at the affection, "It's good to see you too, Mrs. Weasley."

Mrs. Weasley smiled then turned to the twins, "And Ella is another reason for you two to be good role models."

The boys rolled their eyes before going over and hugging Ella themselves. After the three siblings took their things up to their rooms, they came back downstairs to sit with Ella. They all took their seats at the end table of the three tables the innkeeper had put together and tried to catch up a bit. Ella sat with Ginny to her right while Fred across from her and George was at his side.

"So how was Egypt?" Ella asked them.

Ginny gushed, "It was brilliant! There were a lot of neat pyramids, but Mum wouldn't let me go into some of them."

Ella shrugged, "Probably for good reason, now what happened with Percy and the pyramid you two tried shoving him into?"

"Oh that," Fred grinned mischievously.

"We were a bit sick of the constant pompous attitude," George explained.

Fred nodded, "Bill never acted like that when he was Head Boy. Percy just took it too much to his head."

"So naturally, we thought if he wanted an audience –a group of truly avid listeners –he should go into the pyramid. All those mummies would probably listen to hours on end about his plans for the future and how important he'd be next year." George pointed out rationally.

She laughed at their antics, "Well, when you put it that way it seems you were doing him a favor."

Dinner was a happy affair with a five course meal and a lot of laughter bouncing around the room. Mrs. Weasley urged Harry and Ella both to have multiple helpings of each course. Ella couldn't help but take the advice and eat until she was sure she'd burst from all the food. Her only hope was that the nightmares would stay at bay tonight so she wouldn't be sick while staying with Ginny.

"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" Fred asked while eating some more chocolate pudding.

Mr. Weasley swallowed then said, "The Ministry's providing a couple of cars." Everyone gaped at him in surprise.

"Why?" Percy questioned with a hint of curiosity.

"It's because of you, Perce." George told him without a hint of joking in his voice, "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them –"

" –for Humongous Bighead," Fred snorted. Mrs. Weasley and Percy were the only two to not find the joke funny. Fred couldn't help the grin that automatically came when he heard Ella's laugh once more, he really loved making her laugh.

In a dignified voice, Percy reiterated, "Why are the Ministry providing cars for us, Father?"

With a casual tone but a reddening face, Mr. Weasley explained, "Well, as we haven't got one anymore –and as I work there, they're doing me a favor –"

"Good thing too," Mrs. Weasley took over briskly. "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground… You all are packed, aren't you?"

"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet," Percy whined. "He's dumped them on my bed."

"You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning," Mrs. Weasley called to him at the opposite end of the table.

After dinner when everyone was full and sleepy, they made their way upstairs to their rooms so they could complete their packing. Ella followed Fred and George to their room since her bags hadn't even been touched yet. For once, both boys had their trunks already packed. When they entered the room, Fred tossed something to Ella and sat on the edge of his bed. George grinned at Ella who caught the object with ease.

"Nice catch," Fred remarked.

George agreed, "If we didn't already have a full team, we'd suggest that you join Quidditch."

"Thanks. What is this?" Ella asked before looking at it herself. A little silver badge was currently sitting in the palm of her hand. "Percy is going to be beyond furious with you two when he finds out what you've done."

Fred shrugged in response, "It's typical for that to happen anyways. We figured we'd improve it a bit before giving it back."

Ella gave a mischievous grin that could rival the twins, "And what did the two of you have in mind?"

"Well," Fred began, "underage magic is difficult to track in a place like this."

"Nearly impossible," George interjected.

Fred mused, "We think that Head Boy isn't the right title for our dear brother. We were going to do some alterations."

She beamed, "What are we waiting for then?"

"You know, Fred, I think Mum's right about our influence on her," George told his twin.

"I think you're right George, thank goodness we wouldn't have her any other way; otherwise things could be very difficult." Fred affirmed to his twin.

"What can I say? I've learned from the best," Ella teased.

George clapped his hands together, "That reminds me… we've got your gifts! Here's mine to you –I think you'll like it just fine." Fred's eyes widened as her pulled out a book that they'd found in the market. They knew Ella would find it fascinating because it talked about the history of Egyptian wizards. Even the twins found some interesting points in it, and Ella loved learning much more than they did. What worried Fred was the second gift they found that he would now have to claim as his gift to her. They were supposed to give her the gifts together so there'd be no awkward moments or anything of that nature.

Ella eyes brightened, "Wow, I've heard that the history of those wizards is brilliant! The pyramids were supposedly built by some astounding architects who had magic. Thank you so much, George!"

Fred's legs felt like jelly as he moved over to the truck and pulled out the second gift. It was a long silver necklace with a beautiful black opal at the bottom. The black stone had flecks of all sorts of colors in it including red, yellow, green, and a lovely blue. While they were down in Egypt looking for gifts to bring back, Fred had seen the necklace and while the red and gold made his mind wander to Gryffindor, the blue made his thoughts wander to a certain Gryffindor's eyes. The witch at the stand recognized the look he was giving it and gave him almost a steal of a price, and told him to give it to that special someone he was thinking about.

"Here's this, we thought you might like it since you really like your bracelet," Fred said shyly to her.

Her gaze was transfixed on the gem, "That's breathtaking. Thank you, Fred!" Ella gave him a large hug then put the necklace on. George grinned at his brother who glared slightly at him.

"By the way," George added, "the witch we bought it from said that it had a spell on it to keep the wearer safe from harm. I don't know if that's true, but we put it on Ginny for a while during the trip and a pot fell from a building –some vender knocked it off accidentally –Ginny moved away just in time."

Ella's hand brushed the stone's cool surface, "Sounds like a lucky gift to have then." The twins pulled out their wands and Ella suggested different spells to use to change the wording of the badge. They were pretty satisfied with their work.

"C'mon then, let's go see if Percy's realized it's gone yet," George said and they followed him to the shadows of the stair landing. They could clearly hear a lot of noise coming from Ron and Percy's bedroom, and every so often Percy would shout at Ron about its whereabouts. The three were heaving with laughter after a few minutes.

Harry appeared shortly after with a slightly pained look on his face. Fred whispered to him, "We've got it. We've been improving it." He showed Harry the badge and he forced a slight laugh before hurrying up the stairs.

"What's the matter with him?" George asked looking after him.

"I think he found out something he didn't want to know," Ella informed them. "I'm sure he'll be alright, though." The twins nodded and listened to their brother's panic for a while longer before Ella told them to give her the badge.

She tentatively knocked on the door to Percy's room, "Hi, I couldn't help but hear all the noise. You aren't by chance missing this, are you?" Ella held out the badge and for a moment she thought Percy would kiss it.

"Where did you find it?" He demanded fastening it on his chest once more.

Ella tried not to laugh as she told him, "Downstairs on the table with Ron's rat tonic. You must've forgotten it there."

Percy's eyebrow furrowed, "And I thought I set it on my bedside table for polishing. Well, thank you very much anyhow. Now, you should go to bed. We'll be up early in the morning as it is and no one will be allowed to sleep in." Ella nodded dutifully then turned and went back to the twins. They friends said their good nights and Ella went to Ginny's room.

Ginny was already in her pajamas when Ella entered the room. Ella quickly threw on her own pajamas and the two girls climbed into their beds. The lights were out in their room and the two girls lay silently for a while. Ella knew Ginny wasn't asleep from her breathing.

"Hey Ginny?" Ella asked softly.

"Yeah?"

"D'you think this year will be better than last year?" Ella asked looking up at the ceiling above her.

Ginny thought for a moment, "Well, I certainly don't plan on being possessed, so I think that classifies as better for me." Ella turned her head to look at Ginny and Ginny turned her head as well. Both girls started giggling.

"You know, I think that classifies as better for the both of us," Ella stated after their giggling subsided.

"It's true, I figure if I go a year without being under the control of a diary, I'll probably remember a lot more of the school year than I did last year," Ginny speculated.

"And I'll probably be around for more of the school year as well," Ella observed. The girls remained lying on their backs chuckling at their casual conversation.

Ginny put in, "Sorry again about that by the way. I was absolutely awful to you last year. I kept thinking all summer about if you decided that I really couldn't be forgiven. I couldn't even imagine how awful that'd be."

Ella looked at the girl seriously, "Ginny, I'm not taking back what I said. I don't blame one iota of last year on you. You were possessed and I can't incriminate you for that."

"I know, but I'm really glad we can talk about it like this. It's nice to know that there really was no lasting damage done," Ginny confided in her.

Turning her attention back to the ceiling Ella queried, "You're going to try to make more friends this year, aren't you?"

"Of course," Ginny stated. "In fact, I think I have one already. I started talking to her in the last few days of term. She's nice, but a little different."

"There's nothing wrong with being a little different," Ella said feeling slightly defensive since she was different from most people herself. Not everyone in the wizarding world could dream the future after all.

Ginny backtracked, "I know there's nothing wrong with being a little different, but I mean this girl believes in creatures that don't exist and things like that. She's really weird."

"Oh, well still, if she's nice I wouldn't let a little oddness get in the way of being friends with her," Ella urged.

There was a pause then, "You're right. I think I'll give her friendship a try. She's almost as alone as I was last year, but I don't think she minds it much. She acts like she doesn't in any case."

"Good for you, now I think we should go to bed. It'll be morning before we know it," Ella told Ginny.

"Alright. Sweet dreams, Ella."

"Sweet dreams, Ginny." And sweet dreams were exactly what both girls were blessed with.

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**A/N: First things first, I just want to shout out a big Happy Birthday to my friend who reads this fanfic! She shares a birthday with Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling, so that's pretty awesome, and those two should have a happy birthday as well today! Please, Please, Please Review. Feedback is much appreciated! **


	5. Chapter 5: The Dementor

**I don't own the Harry Potter series!**

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The Dementor

The next morning, Ella was woken up by the sound of knocking at their door. The toothless smile of the innkeeper greeted her and had a cup of tea for both her and Ginny. Ella smiled and thanked him before moving to wake up Ginny who was a hard sleeper. Something about living with the twins made her difficult to wake, especially if the thing waking her up was a loud bang of any kind. She was impervious to the noise, and Ella had to practically shove her out of bed to wake her up.

"Who's there?" Ginny said as she started sliding off the edge of her bed.

"Who do you think! Wake up before your Mum comes in and we both get in trouble…" Ella hissed at her trying to get Ginny to at least wake up a little. Ginny sprang out of bed at the mention of her mother. The girls threw on their clothes and pulled their trunks down the stairs.

When they popped out below, only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were awake. Mr. Weasley was reading the paper and Mrs. Weasley made sure the two girls sat down to eat breakfast as soon as they appeared. A short time had elapsed before a tired Hermione appeared as well. Mr. Weasley retreated further into his paper seeming to prefer that to all the girls, but Mrs. Weasley started a conversation with her real and surrogate daughters.

"I'm sure all of you will have a fantastic year," she commented to the girls.

"Well, I'm not sure about Potions…" Ginny muttered under her breath. Hermione and Ella nodded slightly.

Mrs. Weasley got a gleam in her eye, "Did I ever tell you about the time I brewed a love potion?" The girls all shook their heads. "Well, I was a decent potion brewer and still am, but I heard about the love potion and wanted to give it a try. I spent hours on this potion and I finally thought I had it perfect when someone called for me to come help them with dinner. I came back to my room a little while later and my two younger brothers had drank the entire potion!

"For a moment, I was furious with the both of them, but then I realized that I must have made the potion a little too strong or they weren't supposed to drink a full thing in one go because both Gideon and Fabian were positively cuddling my pillows. They were infatuated!" All of the girls were giggling. Ella wondered why this was the first time she had ever heard of Fred and George's uncles.

Ginny leaned forward, "What happened next, Mum?"

She smiled fondly, "Well, I had to take them to St. Mungo's to get them all sorted out, of course. They were still in school at the time, bless them." Mrs. Weasley glanced at Ella and Hermione who seemed to have the question written all over their face. She sighed, "I don't talk about Gideon or Fabian. It's painful sometimes to think about them since they were killed so young, but I'm happy that I was able to spend some good times with them. They'd be happy to know that peace has come to the world for now, and that they helped. The twins are an awful lot like them."

Their story ended there and Ella, though she felt sad about Mrs. Weasley's brothers, felt warm inside. She liked hearing about the Weasleys' family history. It made her feel even closer to the people she loved so dearly. Everyone had their trunks near the door and were anxiously awaiting the Ministry's cars to show up. Ella and the twins chatted happily about getting to see the rest of their friends and eating wizarding sweets on the way to the castle. Ella had enough money to chip in to the pile everyone put together so they could all buy candy for everyone to share. It was a tradition among their friends.

"You won't! What about poor Scabbers, eh?" Ella heard Ron snap at Hermione.

"What's wrong with Scabbers, Ron?" Ella asked him curiously. Her real question was: What's wrong with Pettigrew, but she couldn't very well ask that.

Ron sighed, "He's sick. He's losing all his hair and is getting way too thin. That cat of hers is making things worse too."

Ella glanced at the basket where Crookshanks was, "Maybe Scabbers dealt with a cat before coming into your family. It's like a _blast from the past _for him." Ella watched the pocket where Scabbers was and hoped that he'd heard her.

"They're here," Mr. Weasley called to them all. "Harry, come on." The group made their way out of the Leaky Cauldron and to two old fashioned cars. Both were dark green and Mr. Weasley had Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Percy in the backseat of the first car. He turned towards Fred, George, Ginny, and Ella and had them get in the back of the second car. Mr. Weasley went back to the first and got in the front seat with the driver while Mrs. Weasley sat with the driver of their car.

Their trip to King's Cross station was quick and rather uneventful. They made it there with twenty minutes to spare, which was a lot different from the year before when they nearly missed it altogether. The Ministry workers even unloaded their heavy trunks and found them trolleys to put their things on. Soon enough, they were on their way to the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

"Right then, let's do this in pairs, as there are so many of us. I'll go first with Harry," Mr. Weasley dictated. The two of them moved up to the wall then leaned against it casually to get to the other side. Ella saw that they'd disappeared. Ron quickly bumped Ginny forward so she would have to go with Percy instead of him. Ginny shot him an annoyed look before taking the barrier at a run with her brother. Soon Ron and Hermione had gone through as well as the twins. Mrs. Weasley and Ella entered the platform in a similar way to Harry and Mr. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley kissed all of her children including Ella, Harry, and Hermione. She gave Harry an extra hug, which Ella tried not to be jealous of. Mrs. Weasley told him, "Do take care, won't you, Harry?" He nodded to her then she opened her enormous handbag, "I've made you all sandwiches… Here you are, Ron… no, they're not corned beef… Fred? Where's Fred? Here you are, dear…" She continued until each person had a homemade sandwich in their hands. She then turned to Ella as everyone began to leave to get on the train.

"Have a good term dear, and don't forget to write," Mrs. Weasley told her giving her one last hug, which made her and Harry equal. "Maybe you can come to the Burrow for Christmas."

Ella shook her head sadly, "My parents want me home for break this year. They've got a special dinner for work that I need to be present for."

Mrs. Weasley nodded, "Well, I'll see you when you get off the train at any rate. Goodbye Ella."

"Goodbye," Ella whispered sadly. The mother turned to yell at Mr. Weasley for holding Harry up.

The twins and Ella hopped on the train to find their friends and a compartment. Katie, Angelina, and Alicia saved them all a seat and just as the train began moving, Lee slid through the door. The group smiled at each other, happy to finally be reunited.

"Well, my break was bloody boring, so I want to hear about your much more exciting summers," Lee announced to them and they all sat down. Ella sat next to the window with Lee beside her while Angelina sat next to him. Fred and George were across from Ella and Alicia and Katie sat beside the boys.

For the next few hours, those who had eventful summers told their friends all about it. Katie, Alicia, and Angelina gave a play by play of the Quidditch match they saw abroad while Fred and George assured Ella she'd get to see the Quidditch World Cup next year with their family. Ella was beyond excited for that event, but figured she should probably focus on the whole year she had before then. The trolley came around midafternoon, and after getting their food, the group changed into their robes.

Both the twins decided that it was their turn to put on a show once the trolley had left. While everyone munched on their food, they told all the tales they had of Egypt and the pyramids. After they'd finished with that, they began making jokes using their foods. Fred and George were currently using some licorice wands as wings and pretending to be birds while everyone laughed.

"You two should make some prank-candy. It'd probably be hilarious," Ella joked to them, but to her surprise, a gleam entered their eyes.

Fred grinned, "You know, that's not such a bad idea."

George nodded enthusiastically, "I'm sure there's plenty that could be done with all sorts of sweets!" The boys decided to take a break from their bird dances and sat down to rest.

Ella glanced out the window that was slowly becoming streaked with rain, "Looks like we're in for a dreary return to school."

"All the more reason to joke around now," Fred said leaning against the back of his seat. He tried to look cool and suave as he tossed a Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Bean in the air and into his mouth. He would've succeeded too had it not been for the flavor of the bean causing him to choke. Everyone broke out laughing at his scrunched up expression.

"What flavor this time?" Ella asked.

"Earwax," Fred gagged.

Lee roared with laughter, "Suck it up, mate! Ella and I once ate an entire box of those without spitting any out. Now _that's_ a true Gryffindor."

"No, that's no taste buds," he retorted sourly, but one look at Ella's smile put him back in a good mood. It was hard to be upset in such good company anyways. The friends broke out the Exploding Snap that Ella had bought the twins last year and began to play until it was so dark out the lanterns had to be lit. Ella had just been destroyed in a match by Katie when the train began to slow down.

The chatter in the compartment stopped. They looked at each other as the train grew slower and slower by the minute. The sound of the pistons fell away and was replaced by the wind and rain, which was pounding against the window.

"We can't possibly be there," Angelina said. She stood up and looked out of the compartment door. "There are others looking out too. They're just as confused as we are," She informed the others.

Ella felt herself fly out of the chair as the train jerked to a stop. Angelina fell to the floor as well with a shout of surprise. Several bangs and thuds rang through the train and one of the bags from their compartment fell on Ella's back. Every light on the train was out so that no one could see the hand in front of their face.

Tossing the bag aside, Ella stood up and asked, "Is everyone alright?" A chorus of yeses came from her friends and they heard Angelina scurry out of the doorframe. Just in time as well, for the moment she moved someone came falling into their compartment.

"_Lumos," _Katie cast and held her wand up to show the person who was on the floor.

"Malfoy?" Several of them uttered in shock. The boy looked like he was about to wet himself. He was completely terrified. Before anyone could ask why he was so frightened, the very reason glided into the room sucking out any warmth or happiness as it did. The light in Katie's wand went out almost immediately.

A dementor floated in the doorway of their compartment. Its rattling breath chilled Ella to the bone as it did in the many dreams she had. She began to tremble and in the back of her mind a scream could be heard. It was one of them from her dream about Neville's parents. Ella felt her knees begin to buckle, but stepped forward regardless. The dementor seemed to take that as a challenge and glided further into the compartment.

"None of us are hiding Sirius Black. Leave us be," Ella stated with all the strength she could muster. The dementor stayed where it was and the screams increased in volume. Voldemort's cold laugh now joined the mix. "W-we are-aren't hiding…" The dementor wouldn't budge and Ella felt a scream rising up in her. _"Ex-expecto p-patronum," _she tried to use the charm but the mist faltered. Ella pictured Mrs. Weasley's hug and the warmth it gave her. The screams died down a bit, _"Expecto Patronum!" _She shouted loudly at the dementor and was pleased that there was a good sized barrier between her friends and the creature. Deciding that there really were no prisoners in the area, the dementor left to go check the others.

As soon as it was gone, Ella's knees gave out from under her. Fred lunged forward to grab her before she could hit the ground. Her breathing was shallow and she shook from head to toe. Ella wasn't even able to properly appreciate the fact that Fred had his arms around her and was gently lowering her to the ground. Fred, himself, couldn't even comprehend what he was doing because he was so worried about Ella's wellbeing. She was far too pale and couldn't seem to catch her breath.

"P-pass me a chocolate frog please," she breathed. Ella's knees were curled up to her chest and the screaming had imprinted itself in the back of her mind. A single tear fell from her eye; she tried to wipe it away before anyone noticed. Fred handed her a chocolate frog from his seat and unwrapped it for her. He was kneeling just in her line of sight and handed her the wiggling bit of chocolate. Ella nibbled on it and began to feel its warmth spread through her.

A few more minutes passed by in total darkness before the lights flickered back to life and the train began to move again. Malfoy looked around the crowd of people as if suddenly realizing where he was and who he was with. Similarly, the people in the room seemed to realize who he was.

"Get out," barked George. Malfoy scurried from the room.

"Ella, what was that?" Katie squeaked from her spot on the chair. Everyone in the room was pale, but none as much as Ella.

She swallowed, "A dementor, Azkaban's guar–"

"No, no," Lee interrupted. "We come from magic families, we know what that is, but what did you do to it and what did it do to you?"

Her strength was beginning to seep back into her bones, but she didn't trust herself to stand back up, "I was dreaming about those for months before I got Petrified last year. I didn't know that they were going to be floating around the school because of Sirius Black escaping –actually, I didn't know they'd be at school at all. Well, I tried studying them and came across the spell that repels them. As for what it did to me, the same as all of you. It sucked the happiness away and brought bad thoughts and feelings to my head. The only difference is because of my dreams, it was able to bring more horrible things to my mind than I'd care to admit."

Fred's arms wrapped around her as soon as she stopped talking. Ella's eyes widened but then she returned the hug. A faint blush gave some color back to her face.

"Sorry, you just looked like you really needed that," Fred muttered sheepishly.

Ella smiled gently, "Thank you." He grinned at her and helped her back into her seat. There wasn't much talking after that, but the train arrived at the station soon after. The group huddled into a carriage that climbed up to the school. Ella was anxious for the bustling Great Hall filled with laughter and delicious food. It was just what she needed to get back to being herself.

Everyone in the Great Hall was jittering with nervous excitement. It would seem the dementor was a bit of a celebrity and some people felt the need to boast about their reaction to the creature. Ella assumed most of them acted like Malfoy did. He didn't take the boasting route, though; he was informing everyone about how Harry Potter fainted. Ella wished people would actually do their research. Dementors feed off those who have seen horrible things in their life; Harry Potter had seen his own parents get murdered more or less. He wasn't weak for fainting; half the people in the room probably would've fainted for a longer period of time than Harry did if it had been them.

Professor Flitwick led the first years into the hall instead of McGonagall that year, but Ella wasn't too worried. She'd seen McGonagall leading Harry and Hermione somewhere earlier and knew she was still a teacher. Everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting for the hat to speak up about its duties and history.

_I may not look like much_

_I'm frayed and patched and worn_

_But I certainly know a bunch_

_My abilities are above scorn_

_Those founders indeed they knew_

_That I was surely the one _

_For I had a job to do_

_And wouldn't rest until it was perfectly done_

_Take a seat and place me on your head_

_I'll peer into the crannies and nooks_

_I'll see where your mind should be fed_

_Created by those in history books_

_Ravenclaw valued students of wisdom_

_Give me those of creative wit and brew_

_They'll rule my kingdom_

_Draped in bronze and blue_

_Slytherin boasted a similar mood_

_I want cunning determination_

_They'll make up my brood_

_A Silver and green creation to fill the nation _

_But Gryffindor valued something more_

_If they've got courage and strength_

_Show them my door_

_A lion's heart of gold and red that'll truly roar _

_Finally, kindly Hufflepuff knowing and fair_

_Let me take those who are modest and kind_

_Those will be who I bear_

_In yellow and black will they share _

_And so the founders went on _

_They left me to do my work_

_Now I sort the witty, kind, cunning, and brawn_

_Flawlessly and without a quirk_

_So come on down, take a seat_

_You'll find your place among the pot_

_You've got new friends to meet and greet_

_And I'll show you to your spot_

The applause echoed around the hall as the hat went still once more. Many of the first year students looked less nervous, though an air of panic still wove through the bunch. Ella remembered how frightened she had been when she first entered the Great Hall. She'd been terrified about going last, but instead ended being third to last and a Hatstall, which she now knew was very rare indeed. The hat normally knew immediately where to put students, but it'd had some trouble with her.

Harry and Hermione joined the Gryffindor table just as Flitwick left with the stool and hat. Everyone turned their heads towards Harry when he entered. It seemed that no matter how old he got, people always had a reason to stare. The two sat down and shortly after, Dumbledore stood.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore's voice boomed to the students. The floating candles shimmered around him. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…" Fred and George were staring towards their plates hungrily and Ella couldn't help but roll her eyes, but even her stomach growled at the idea of a Hogwarts feast.

Dumbledore continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business." His tone was grave and he looked vaguely repulsed by the idea, which Ella didn't blame him for. "They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises –"

"_Unless, it's an animal_," Ella thought to herself.

"–or even Invisibility Cloaks. It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors."

Percy pompously puffed out his chest to show everyone that _he _was Head Boy. Barely anyone took notice since they were still focused on Dumbledore. Not a sound was made.

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Dumbledore indicated the man Ella had seen in her dream last year and she applauded for him along with a couple other people. He looked a bit shabby compared to the other teachers, but Ella knew why. She didn't care because she knew he'd do a brilliant job no matter what the state of his robes was. Ella noticed Snape glaring at him with seething anger; she didn't even want to imagine what brought about that amount of hatred.

"As to our second new appointment, well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties." A rumbling applause broke out from many people in the hall, mostly Gryffindors. Ella clapped with the rest of the people and Hagrid blushed deeply under his beard.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance. Let the feast begin!" Dumbledore exclaimed and everyone was happy to see mountains of food appear on platters as well as their goblets fill with pumpkin juice. Ella and her friends all dug into the wonderful looking meal, and Ella felt the need to compliment the House Elves who had made it. They were certainly competent in their work.

Amid the laughter and talk that filled the hall, Ella felt truly at peace. Her friends were all beside her and these were one of the times that reminded her how much she was a part of this world. She'd never had many friends in the Muggle World, but this world was different. Times like these reminded her that she didn't have to be alone, there were people beside her to help and behind her to catch her if she fell.

The feast came to a close and Ella followed the large group of Gryffindors to the Common Room up in one of the towers. She was stuffed like a Christmas turkey and ready to sleep the night away until classes began the next day. They reached the portrait hole and waited for someone to come by with the password.

Ella got shoved out of the way by Percy who was calling out, "Coming through, coming through! The new password's 'Fortuna Major'!" The Fat Lady nodded then swung open to let the students into the warmth of the Common Room. Everyone smiled and murmured their good nights while they made their way to bed. As Ella crawled into the bed beside Katie's, the dementor incident was the furthest thing from her mind. What she didn't realize was the impact the creature had on her deep within the recesses of her mind. Her eyes closed slowly and a world of nightmares slowly built around her blocking out the light much like the dementors did earlier.

_The room around her was extremely dark, Ella somehow knew that she was locked in a closet somewhere. The space had no light whatsoever. It was too dark for her eyes to even adjust. Ella felt panic rising in her. What if no one found her? What if she was too late? _

_Too late for what? _

_Ella couldn't for the life of her think about what she was so afraid of, but she was hysterical in her fear. She could hear herself bellowing at the door and thrusting herself at it until she was sure that she'd dislocated her shoulder. There was nothing she could do to stop what was happening, she was trapped. _

_Then she was free again, only to realize that she hadn't been released –not exactly. She was in a new setting completely. She wasn't relieved to see the change in location for she knew how this dream would go and she didn't want to be here. _

_A shriek sent a chill through Ella's spine. There was absolute chaos all around her as curses were shot up into the night air. People crashed into her leaving her out of breath and terrified as she was shoved about by the masses of people. They were closing in on her and she wasn't able to breathe. The men with masks marched nearer and nearer to where she was and she just knew she couldn't let them catch her. Bad things would happen if they did. _

_Suddenly, she was somewhere new. Ella was too disoriented to tell left from right anymore, but that didn't lessen other senses in the dream. An arm wrapped around Ella's torso as she flung herself at something. The dreams were just one dark scene after another. Who was grabbing her? Ella fought desperately against the vicelike grip. Whoever they were couldn't be friendly, they couldn't mean well. _

"_Let me go!" Ella cried out in fear and anger. She could see horrible things in front of her, but she didn't know if they were happening just then or if she was having multiple visions. There were hundreds of orbs shattering as they fell from a ceiling one moment. The next, someone had several jinxes blasted at them. Ella's scream echoed in the darkness and she tried to close her eyes. _

"_Stop, stop! Please, make them stop!" She choked out feeling as though the sights before her were pressing down on her chest, clenching her heart in an attempt to make it stop._

"_You cannot stop the future, Ella. You cannot stop time." The high cold voice whispered in her ear. "But time can stop you."_

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**A/N: How was that? I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Please leave some more! :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Talons and Tea Leaves

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series in the slightest, all rights go to J.K. Rowling.**

**(Also, I'm really sorry it took so long to update!)**

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Talons and Tea Leaves

Ella's scream ripped out of her throat and into the dormitory. Katie scrambled over to her from where she was getting ready to go down to breakfast. It took Katie five minutes to calm Ella down and convince her that she was safe.

"I'm sorry for frightening you. I'm alright, really," Ella assured her with a shaking voice. Katie didn't seem to believe her, but left for breakfast nonetheless. She knew better than to ask Ella what was going to happen. Despite Ella's words, Katie made sure to tell the twins to wait for her before going down to get something to eat.

The trio moved down to the Great Hall together. Neither boy asked their friend what was going to happen in the future. The twins had been able to guess whatever Ella saw that night had been horrific, and neither of them knew if they could handle what was going to happen well enough to actually make Ella talk about it. The three found an open seat along the table and the twins made sure Ella actually ate. They knew that Ella could lose her appetite easily after having nightmares, which is why they took it upon themselves to make sure she got some food in her anyway. Neither George nor Fred even thought about it anymore, it was reflex to look after Ella.

Glancing over to the Slytherin table, Malfoy seemed to be telling an animated story to a group of students. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked by, he mimicked an extremely ludicrous swooning fit prompting a roar of obnoxious laughter.

"Hey, Potter! Potter! The dementors are coming, Potter! _Wooooo_!" A Slytherin girl with a pug face sneered.

"Why I ought to…" Ella thought to herself, but she dropped the thought when Harry sat down next to George across from Fred and Ella.

George grabbed the new schedules and passed one to Harry, "New third-year course schedules. What's up with you, Harry?"

"Malfoy," Ron replied for his friend taking a seat on the other side of George. Her friend looked up at the Slytherin table just as Malfoy "fainted" another time.

As calmly as he could, George stated, "That little git. He wasn't too cocky last night when the dementors were down at our end of the train. Came running into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself," Fred affirmed with a contemptuous glance towards the Slytherins.

"I wasn't too happy myself," George confided in them. "They're horrible things, those dementors…"

"Sort of freeze your insides, don't they?" Fred noted. Ella nodded solemnly.

"You didn't pass out, though, did you?" Harry's voice was glum and Ella felt George's eyes dart over to her. She had the worst reaction of their group of friends, but it seemed like the twins didn't want to throw her under a bus by telling Harry that. He opted for a different tale.

George told him, "Forget it, Harry. Dad had to go out to Azkaban one time, remember Fred? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever been, he came back all weak and shaking… They suck the happiness out of a place, dementors. Most of the prisoners go mad in there."

"Anyway, we'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match," Fred said changing the subject slightly. "Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of the season, remember?" He'd said the magic words, for Harry brightened almost immediately after and helped himself to some sausages.

"Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today," Hermione piped up happily after a few minutes of eating. She was examining her schedule with avid interest. Ella had pushed hers aside without even glancing at it. She wasn't ready for the hustle and bustle of her school work just yet; she wanted to maintain her break a little longer.

Ron peered over her shoulder and a confused look spread across his face, "Hermione, they've messed up your schedule. Look –they've got you down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough _time_."

"I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall," she responded vaguely. The twins and Ella shared a skeptical look. The two continued to argue over the schedule and Ella decided to finally pick hers up. She had a pretty light load that day. Her first class would be Transfigurations, then she'd go to Defense Against the Dark Arts, afterwards would be lunch, and she'd end the day with Divinations. Ella sort of dreaded the idea of having Divinations on the first day back, but figured there'd be someone new for Trelawney to target as dead-meat for the year instead of her.

Ron's voice broke Ella out of her thoughts, "We'd better go, look, Divination's at the top of North Tower. It'll take ten minutes to get there…" The three said goodbye to Ella, Fred, and George after hastily finishing their breakfast.

"I wonder which of them will get 'the grim' this year," Ella mused to the twins.

Fred betted, "My money's on Harry. It'd be too good of an opportunity for Trelawney to pass up. She'd be thrilled to put a death omen on The Boy Who Lived. What do you say George, our usual?"

George scoffed, "I'm not betting you about that. It's a sucker's bet; of course she'll pick Harry."

"Well, I'd better be getting to Transfiguration, you two should probably head off as well," Ella stated with a pointed look. The boys shrugged and put more food on their plates. She rolled her eyes knowing it was a lost cause. They'd go when they wanted to.

Within the first few minutes of the Transfigurations class, Ella realized that this year was once again going to be a lot more difficult than the year before. They were starting to get into some of the course work that would be on their O.W.L. exams. Ella had forgotten about the giant test that was given at the end of fifth year. Angelina, Lee, Alicia, and the twins were definitely going to be under a lot of strain during the year since they had to deal with those on top of Quidditch matches.

The bell sounded and everyone moved to go to their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Most of the chatter coming from the Gryffindors was their prayers that this teacher was better than Lockhart. Most hoped for just a trifle better, but Ella had to admit, a trifle wouldn't do much if they were going off Lockhart's abilities. The class took their seats in the classroom where they'd already had three other teachers before Professor Lupin.

"Welcome, fourth years, to your first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson," Lupin began once the period had commenced. There were a few scattered bits of reply, but nothing overtly enthusiastic –like the night before in the Great Hall. Ella was just waiting to see what he had in store for the class.

"In my experience, the best way to learn is to get your hands dirty, so to speak. Most of my classes we will be working with your wands and against a Dark spell or creature. If the creature's not too dangerous, I'll bring it in so you all can get hands on experience. Now, what have you all dealt with in Defense Against the Dark Arts before?" Lupin glanced around the room and the students all shifted uncomfortable.

A burly Slytherin boy stated, "Professor Quirrell told us about Vampires when we were in our second year!"

"And Professor Lockhart told us about all his encounters with banshee, werewolves, and vampires! Granted, he was a fraud so I'm not sure how much of it actually was true…" A Gryffindor girl tried to add before realizing that there probably wasn't much merit in it.

Professor Lupin frowned, "It seems that you all need to learn quite a bit before you're ready for next year's exams. I'm going to do my best to get each and every one of you caught up, but not simply because you have the O.W.L. exams next year. There are dark creatures lurking everywhere, some people may think you're too young to hear that, but it's the unfortunate truth. No matter who you are or where you want to go in life, you always should know how to deal with the dark arts or dark creatures at the very least. Even on your train ride to the school you all dealt with an extremely dark creature. Dementors are hardly an O.W.L creature, if you continue on to N.E.W.T. classes, you may learn how to deal with them –"

"Ella knows how!" Katie blurted out. Ella's eyes widened and she turned sharply to her friend with a reddening face. The eyes of her peers were focused on her.

Lupin looked extremely surprised, "Who did you say knows how to repel a dementor?"

Katie looked at Ella apologetically, as though it had really just slipped out of her mouth, "Ella Worthington, sir. Um…her." She pointed shyly too Ella who sank down in her chair.

"Do you mind if I have a word with you after class Miss. Worthington?" Lupin asked her kindly.

She nodded slightly and mumbled, "It's no problem." He smiled then began speaking again. Ella looked over at Katie in annoyance.

Katie mouthed, "_I'm sorry_."

Ella shrugged in reply, "_It's alright_." The class was generally outburst free for the rest of their time. The professor went through their criteria for the school year and what he hoped to go through before they'd start the next year. Ella's mind kept wandering to why he wanted to speak with her after class. She couldn't be in trouble for knowing an advanced spell, could she? It hardly seemed fair to punish someone for doing some extra learning.

While everyone else left the classroom to go to lunch, Ella remained in her seat and waited until everyone had left. Katie moved to leave the room, but apologized nonverbally once more before she did. Ella did her best to not look too frightened of staying behind as the classroom became deserted.

"So, Ella Worthington, was it?"

"Yes, Professor Lupin," Ella responded obediently. He was smiling, so she couldn't be in trouble. That defied normal-teacher logic. Only Snape smiled when bad things were to come.

"And, am I to understand that you can produce a Patronus?" He inquired. Ella could hear the interest peaking in his voice. Ella nodded to him. "May I see it?"

Ella's face paled, but she took a deep breath and called her happy memory to the surface, "_Expecto Patronum!" _Her voice was steadier than her heartbeat, but the feeling of being in Mrs. Weasley's embrace strengthened her as it always did. A silver mist swirled out of her wand for a few moments before the mass began to form into something. Ella gasped as a sleek silver fox trotted out of the spiraling cloud. She kept it moving for a moment before letting the spell go out.

Lupin's face was alight in a wide smile, "That is extremely impressive –one of the most impressive things I've encountered. That is a ridiculously advanced charm for a wizard of my age much less one of yours."

She blushed at the praise, "Thank you, I've been working very hard at it since last year when I…came across it. Though, I must admit, it wasn't nearly that strong against the dementor on the train."

"Dementors tend to make a corporeal Patronus exceedingly difficult to cast. If you were able to make an indistinct one at all on your first encounter with a dementor, well, that is well beyond N.E.W.T level. Just making a corporeal one now is impressive," the professor beamed at her.

"Well, thank you."

A curious look fell over her professor's face, "You wouldn't happen to be the Ella that Professor Dumbledore told me about, would you?"

She bit her lip, "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I probably am. What did he say about me?"

"Don't worry, it wasn't anything rude or degrading. I wasn't told you were a trouble-making hoodlum. He mentioned an Ella with a rather extraordinary ability and she was the reason I got this job," Lupin explained to her.

Ella smiled, "Well that was me. I can see the future, but I assume Dumbledore told you I wasn't supposed to tell anyone anything."

Professor Lupin nodded, "He mentioned that, but I wouldn't ask you about it anyway. I should ask, though, do you know about my condition?"

"I do, but I'm not going to tell a soul. The only reason I know it is because I've seen it in my dreams and what I see there is off limits to anyone else. I know you wouldn't harm anyone, Professor," Ella reassured.

He visibly relaxed, "Thank you, well, you may go Miss. Worthington."

Ella moved towards the door then stopped and turned around, "Could you not mention my Patronus to anyone? I don't mean the form, but the ability in general. I don't want to have people asking me about it all the time."

The request took Lupin by surprise but he vowed, "I won't tell a soul." Ella quickly darted from the room and grabbed something from the Great Hall for lunch before rushing towards the North Tower. She felt slightly exhausted from casting the Patronus, but she figured she could rest a bit during her double Divinations class. The room was usually so warm and filled with sleep inducing perfume that Ella would probably pass out within a few minutes.

"Well look who it is! Worthington decided to show up after all," Cormac McLaggen teased. He was sitting in their usual spot next to Cho Chang who smiled kindly to Ella. Cho looked relatively the same as she did before break while Cormac usually pale skin was much more tanned.

"I wasn't late McLaggen," she shot back.

Cho laughed, "Very nearly, we were beginning to think that you'd dropped this class. Can't blame you though, last year was pretty much enough for a life time, and you only went through half of the year!"

"So, what did Professor Lupin want?" McLaggen asked her.

Ella lied smoothly, "Just to ask if Katie was telling the truth. I mean, I told the thing to go away on the train, but I didn't use any sort of spell so Lupin wasn't very impressed."

McLaggen sighed, "Well, that's disappointing, but I'm sure he'll realize that you're decent enough at spells soon enough. Definitely not as good as I am, but it's expected since you don't come from a magic background." Ella rolled her eyes annoyed by his behavior. Some things would never change and one of those things was Cormac's ego.

The three listened and scoffed as Trelawney made various predictions about what would happen that year. She announced that they'd be working on planetary charts and such for the first part of term. Planets apparently influenced how a person would look or behave as they grew up. Ella could hardly understand that, but figured it'd be interesting to see how it worked anyways. Maybe it'd be like those silly Muggle Horoscopes –just vague enough to be accurate.

Trelawney passed out a bunch of complicated circular charts with the task of figuring out how the planets were aligned on the day they were born. Ella kept looking between the time tables but her solar system certainly didn't look like the ones she had seen on television shows or even at her old school's science fairs.

"This is pointless, I'm my own person! How are a bunch of planets supposed to tell me how I'll behave?" Cho groaned with a glare in the direction of her chart.

"I dunno," Cormac said lightly. "I think I understand this pretty well. I'm nearly finished!"

Glancing over his work, Ella pointed out, "You've got two Saturns, three Mercurys, and I'm not even sure if that's a planet…" McLaggen's eyebrows knitted together as he looked back at his worked and groaned. His head hit the table with a dull thud causing Ella and Cho to laugh. They left the class and went their separate ways with a small bit of enigmatic homework for each of them to complete.

Ella quickly dumped her things off in the Common Room before hurrying down to the Great Hall for dinner. The small bit she had nicked for lunch was long gone and Ella was afraid her stomach would begin eating itself if she didn't give it food soon. Ella was the first of her friends down there, but Katie joined her shortly after. She'd been at her Muggle Studies class and wasn't ashamed to tell Ella that she understood barely anything that was said in the class. She also apologized again for bringing up the dementor to Lupin. The girls ate their meals chatting happily while also waiting for their friends to finally show up.

Their topic of conversation was over the assignment Katie currently had for the Muggle Studies class. Ella was doing her best to explain what the appeal of television was and why Muggles have electricity. Most of the information was soaring over Katie's head, but Ella figured she'd never completely understand the Muggle world. She was solely from the Wizarding World while Ella had her foot in both doors.

The hall was almost completely filled by the time her friends made it. Everyone looked absolutely exhausted, even the twins. The entire group of fifth years collapsed into seats near Katie and Ella. The fourth years shared a look of concern.

"Are you alright?" Ella asked hesitantly.

Fred groaned, "I suppose, we're just not used to this amount of information being shoved down our throats."

George continued, "Fifth year is O.W.L. year, we'd nearly forgotten, but I never expected they'd be so serious about everything." The others nodded sleepily and started piling some food on their plates. The aroma seemed to at least brighten their moods a bit and they started becoming a little more animated as they ate.

Katie tried convincing them, "I'm sure it seems like a lot today because you're just coming back from break. As the year goes on I'm sure it won't seem like this much!" Ella missed their response to Katie's optimism because of something that caught her eye at the Slytherin table. There was a group of students huddled together, two of them being the oafs that follow Malfoy everywhere. The thing that surprised Ella was that Malfoy wasn't in the group or even the Great Hall.

Straining her ears, Ella tried to see if anyone knew why the little prat was missing. Finally, she heard the gossip that was spreading through the Great Hall about Hagrid's first Care of Magical Creatures class. Apparently Malfoy decided not to listen to instructions and ended up getting attacked by a hippogriff named Buckbeak. Ella couldn't feel a bit of remorse for the bratty third year. In her mind he got precisely what he deserved. It was just a shame that it happened during Hagrid's very first lesson. Not to mention that hippogriff would receive the brunt of the punishment.

"Ella?" Lee's voice rang into her thoughts.

"What?" She asked snapping out of her trance.

Lee chuckled, "I asked what you were looking at."

"I wasn't looking at anything, I was listening. Apparently that Malfoy-git ruined the first Care of Magical Creatures class Hagrid ever had. He's up in the hospital wing after getting attacked by a hippogriff," Ella explained to her friends.

"Good!" Fred huffed, "It's about time something went after him. My only regret is it wasn't me or someone from my family. The Weasleys owe the Malfoys a swift kick in the –"

"Poor Hagrid, though," Angelina said cutting Fred off. "He finally gets to teach and then it ends up like that."

Alicia pondered, "I wonder how that will affect Quidditch."

Angelina rolled her eyes, "It shouldn't. Madam Pomfrey is an excellent Healer, yet knowing Slytherins they'll try to pull something, mark my words." The Gryffindors frowned towards the Slytherins not knowing just how true those words were going to be.

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**Please review! I love reading them! :)**


	7. Chapter 7: The Boggart in the Wardrobe

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series. **

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The Boggart in the Wardrobe

The school year finally seemed to be clicking into a manageable pattern for Ella and even her fifth year friends. Quidditch would be starting soon and Ella knew the Gryffindor Captain, Oliver Wood, was in his seventh year, which meant he'd want the Quidditch Cup more than ever before. There would be more practices, pep-talks, and over all Quidditch madness from the over-zealous Keeper in the months to come. Katie and Ella for the time being had agreed to help their friends study and keep up on their mountains of homework. Ella was trying to mentally prepare herself for when Katie would have to take up Quidditch and she'd be forced to help them all with completing their assignments on time.

On top of all the homework, Ella had to worry about her dreams and Sirius Black. Only a few days before, Ella heard that Sirius had been spotted extremely close to Hogwarts. She pretended that the news was absolutely frightening, but in reality she was ecstatic to hear that Sirius was close to the grounds. It meant he had made it safely through his journey. As for her dreams, Ella assumed that the dementor's effect on her was finally beginning to wear off, at least a bit. Her dreams were dying down slightly, but she still woke up in cold sweats every night and once or twice had scared her dorm-mates awake with a scream. She was beginning to feel immensely guilty about sharing a room with Katie and her other roommates. They had enough to worry about without her nightmares.

"Ten points from Gryffindor," Snape snarled for the third time that lesson. Katie had misread the complex potion ingredients in her book and accidently sent off a plume of foul smelling orange smoke. Ella noticed that it didn't matter how badly the Slytherins messed up, only Gryffindors lost House Points for accidently making minor mistakes. Though, even Ella had to admit as she coughed and hacked that the cloud Katie had just made wasn't a minor mistake. She glanced in her own cauldron and frowned at the grainy red glob that sat in there. It was supposed to be a smooth blue, but Ella knew better than to ask for help.

"How am I supposed to get rid of this smoke?" Katie hissed at her.

"Conjure a fan? I don't know!" Ella said while trying to fix her own screwed up potion. Honestly, blue and red were basically opposites, how did she manage to make that big of a mistake? Snape smirked between the rows of struggling Gryffindors while giving helpful tips to the Slytherins under his breath.

Katie huffed, "Way to show favoritism, help them out and leave us to fail!" Ella nodded and figured her potion was virtually a lost cause. The class ended and the dispirited Gryffindors packed up to leave the room.

"You go, it's going to take me a while to get everything put together," Ella told Katie who nodded sadly before leaving. Ella gathered all of her things into her bag then stood in front of Snape's desk.

"What are you waiting for? Get moving," Snape grunted.

Ella stood her ground, "I don't understand why you are so rude to Gryffindors. None of the other teachers are like this. I can understand having House pride, but we're sitting over here failing while you're only helping out the Slytherins."

"Don't make me give you a detention Miss. Worthington," the professor drawled.

She sighed, "She wouldn't have liked you acting like this. I'm sure of it." Before he could respond, Ella made her way towards the door. She was walking fast and didn't realize someone was out there until they smacked heads.

"_Ow!_" Ella cried out massaging her aching head. "McLaggen? What are you doing out here?"

Cormac rubbed his own head as he stammered, "Well…I-I was…um…"

Realization dawned on her, "You were eavesdropping on me! Why would you do that? –No I don't care what your excuse is… I can't believe you!" She stormed out of the dungeons leaving a stuttering Cormac in her wake.

"_Nice going, McLaggen," _he said to himself before swinging his bag over his shoulder and leaving the dungeons as well.

Ella was sitting at her table for lunch and watched out of the corner of her eye as McLaggen appeared. For a moment, it looked like he was going to make his way over to her, but then decided to go sit elsewhere when he realized she was surrounded by all of her friends.

George looked at her worriedly, "Ella, what's on your forehead?"

Fred's eyes wandered to where his brother's was, "It looks like you've got a bruise coming in there."

"I'm fine, I just ran into someone leaving my last class –_actually_ ran into them not figuratively," she explained moodily.

"Ah, you see that makes more sense, I was assuming you ran into something," Fred teased. "You know, you could've hit a wall or something, tripped over your own feet…the list goes on and on."

A thin smile unwillingly made its way to her lips, "I'm not _that_ clumsy. If anything you're talking about yourself."

He feigned a wounded expression, "Excuse me? I believe I am gloriously god-like in my ability to not run into people or inanimate objects! You remember, what happen when we did that prank with the exploding chocolates and Filch almost caught us. You completely –"

"Let's not talk about that…" Ella said quickly. Fred and George dissolved in laughter as Ella's face reddened. She hadn't seen the suit of armor –it had practically jumped out in front of her. Besides, she still managed to not get caught by Filch, so it wasn't like the collision was bad enough to hinder her. "And watch it! If you keep praising yourself like that, you'll become the next Percy!" Everyone laughed as Fred huffed dramatically then the twins began puffing out their chests to mock Percy. Ella was in a considerably good mood for the rest of lunch until she realized it was time for Divinations.

Ella arrived in the classroom nearly ten minutes before class started and sat down in her usual spot. Cho arrived not long after then and to Ella's dismay, McLaggen appeared with a minute to spare. The beginning of class was tense to say the least. Cho noticed almost immediately that something had happened between the other two and kept quiet in an attempt to stay out of it. McLaggen tried to break the tension with small talk but Ella refused to acknowledge he was speaking.

"C'mon Ella, don't be like this," McLaggen said when Trelawney had them working on their star charts once more.

She glared daggers at him, "Don't be like what? Upset that you decided to eavesdrop on a conversation I stayed behind to have? Don't you dare tell me not to be upset!" In the back of her head, Ella knew she was overreacting, but she wasn't supposed to let people in on the future unless they were already aware of it. Ella had dreamt about Snape and Harry's mum's friendship ages ago, but no one knew about it obviously. She might not have named names, but she hated being overheard nonetheless.

He sighed, "Look, this sort of thing isn't easy for me to do. I heard you tell Katie to go on and I thought it was odd so I stayed behind to listen to what you were going to say. I thought it was going to end up being something like what you did with Lockhart last year. I wasn't expecting you to question him and bring up something you'd seen that you didn't want someone else to know about. I still don't know what it was, but it's obvious you're angry and that's not what I wanted to do. So, I'm –well, I'm sorry."

Ella turned to look at him in surprise. She didn't think she'd ever hear the pompous McLaggen apologize to anyone much less herself. He just completely swallowed his pride to admit that he was in the wrong. Ella wasn't sure how to even react to that kind of development from him.

"Well, apology accepted, I suppose," she responded. Cormac smiled slightly at being forgiven and Cho let out the breath she'd been holding.

"Finally, I thought I was going to have to go sit with Marietta again. I can't even imagine going back to classes with her," she grumbled. "_You have to take this seriously, Cho. It's the future, Cho! You shouldn't laugh at Trelawney, she'd absolutely brilliant. You're just jealous you don't have her kind of talent! _As if." Ella and Cormac sniggered at Cho's impersonation of Marietta Edgecombe.

"If she's so annoying, why is she your friend?" Ella asked her curiously.

Cho rolled her eyes, "Well, she's only a pain in this class. Everywhere else she's the best friend a girl could ask for. Besides, she was the first friend I made. How could I turn my back on her after so long?" Ella nodded thoughtfully knowing she'd do the same for her friends. The three worked relatively easily for the next fifteen minutes until their class ended.

The fourth year Gryffindors ended up having a free period before dinner that evening in which both Ella and Katie quickly worked to finish their own homework knowing they'd be helping the rest of their friends after dinner. Ella had just finished her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay when classes ended. The group of friends ate dinner together then began the slow work of completing the homework.

"You know, I think I know what would help with these essays about transfiguring," Ella told Angelina and Alicia while pouring over one of their textbooks.

Alicia looked at her curiously, "What would that be?"

"Actually being in your year," Ella deadpanned in frustration. She might pick up on things pertaining to magic easily, but their work was still an entire year ahead of her classes.

"Hey, it's not our fault you were born a year behind us," George stated from his spot. He was trying to decipher some Potions homework, but struggling almost as much as Ella. Being a mature young woman, Ella stuck her tongue out at George who repeated the action towards her. Their study group worked for a long while to attempt to finish as many projects as they could. Finally, a mutual decision to go to bed rippled through the group prompting everyone to split off into their separate dormitories.

"_Where am I?" Ella thought as she glanced around the area. She felt oddly weightless, and the area around her was murky, like the bottom of a lake. Something flashed past her leaving a swarm of bubbles in its wake. Ella's eyes widened at the strange sight. She moved her arms around the area and realized with a start that she was in a lake. Her hands moved to her throat, but she could still breathe just as easily. This was a dream, so she was perfectly dry and able to get oxygen without a mouthful of water. But why was she here?_

_The best way Ella saw to figure out what brought her to the eerie depths was to follow the creature she'd seen moments before. It took a while, but Ella made her way to a little clearing that looked like an underwater village. She looked around and saw a group of the most oddly terrifying creatures. Their skin was gray and they had long dark green hair that swirled around them as they swam about. None of them paid Ella any mind; they were looking at something else, or rather something. Her vision wandered to see four human figures tied down in the water. Ella's eyes widened in shock and she tried moving towards them only to discover she couldn't get near them. _

_As she fought the current, the water began to fill her lungs. Ella felt like she was drowning within her dream. Darkness was rising and she couldn't get a deep breath…_

"_Enough!" Ella finally managed to bellow and it would appear that the dream complied. _

_Everything around her rippled and suddenly Ella found herself back in the school and on land. She was in the middle of a room, but no matter how hard she tried, Ella couldn't make the details of where she was come into focus. There was fuzz draped over the entire area blotting out colors and defining qualities. _

_A sharp pain spiked in Ella's left hand. She let out a hiss and glanced down at it noticing the back had begun to redden. The burning pain began to grow, but Ella didn't know what was happening. She closed her eyes and tried to block out the feeling. _

"_Tell me!" A shrill voice echoed in the room._

_There was a stuttering, "N-no, I don't know!"_

"_Crucio!" _

Ella forced herself to wake up before the dream could go any further. She'd heard the effects of the Cruciatus Curse enough for a lifetime. She made her way out of the dormitory as quietly as she could. Her own skin felt uncomfortable and she wished she could just leave it.

Then it hit her.

She could leave it. Ella moved towards the hallway outside of the dormitory and glanced around to make sure no one was lurking around the corner. A familiar sensation of shrinking came to her as she began to transform. In less than a second, Ella went from being a blue eyed girl to an amber eyed fox cub. Her heightened senses alerted her to every creak and groan the castle made, but she knew it was still late at night.

Normally, people would go back to sleep after waking up and realizing that it was still night, but Ella couldn't do that. She was wide awake now and unwilling to reenter the world of her dreams. She'd had enough of the future for that night.

The little paws carried her down the stairs that were much bigger than she remembered them being. She finally popped out in the Common room and walked around wondering how to spend these next few hours. There were a few minutes where she just got the hang of four legs instead of two by running around the room freely –she'd never be able to do that as a human. Ella looked up and stood near the window to try and peer out into the starry night. She pressed her wet nose against the glass and looked over the grounds only to notice the massive black dog –Sirius had arrived.

She was about to rush through the portrait hole when she realized she wasn't human. If she left that way, it'd be really suspicious. Her nose twitched as something entered the room. Ella turned around and looked at Crookshanks as he strolled out of the girl's dormitory where she'd been before. The two looked at each other briefly as though regarding whether the other was trustworthy.

"_How are you a fox?" _Crookshanks mewed at her.

"_Magic, how else?"_ Ella responded as quietly as she was able. A cat noise was something the students wouldn't question, but a fox's bark would be a little more than a dead giveaway that something unusual was happening.

Crookshanks looked her over once more, _"You seem a lot more trustworthy than that rat the red haired boy has. He's protective of that thing though."_

"_I'm a friend of Hermione's –the girl that bought you from the pet store and took you're here. We talk periodically."_

Realization dawned on the whiskered face, _"You're the girl that hangs out with those identical ginger haired boys that are always making messes!" _

"_Well, yes, I suppose I am, but there's more to me than that. We're very similar in one regard, I don't trust the rat either and I know someone else who doesn't as well…"_

The cat's eyes flashed a bit, _"Whoever doesn't like that Scabbers thing, is a friend of mine. Who are they a classmate of yours?"_

"_No, he's down on the grounds, I don't know how to get you down there though without going through the portrait hole," _Ella wondered if her frustration could be heard in her foxy tone.

"_Follow me," _Crookshanks moved over towards a corner of the room and behind a chair. Ella watched as he pawed at a few stones that magically gave way to a passageway which was only big enough for something the size of Crookshanks. Ella was glad that she was quite a bit smaller than the ginger cat as she followed him down a path way.

It took a while, but the two finally came out of their pathway and Ella was astounded to see they were actually on the grounds below the castle. Her paws felt at home in the dewy grass, but she didn't allow herself time to get accustomed to the outdoors as an animal. Her eyes scanned through the darkness to try and find Sirius.

Ella looked at her companion, _"How did you know about that passage way? I don't think a single other person has found it."_

Crookshanks, acting a little haughty, informed her, _"Well, I could smell that it was there and I certainly can't remain stuffed in that area for all my days. Of course, no other person has found it, it's nearly too small for myself. A person couldn't fit there." _

She sneezed as the cat's tail flicked against her face. Shooting him an annoyed look, Ella began to lead the two in the direction she'd seen Sirius go. It took a few minutes, but the pair caught up to the giant dog. He turned and looked at the odd pair with mingled curiosity and apprehension.

"_What do you think you two are doing here?" _The dog barked at them. His hair rose and he glared between the two.

Staying strong, Ella told him, _"We're here to help you, or I am right now, at least. I can't speak for him at all. But I think he'll want to join in." _The dog looked over the two other creatures not knowing what to make of this development.

Crookshanks sniffed towards Sirius, _"Another one like you and the rat? This is getting to be too much for me."_

"_The rat? Are you talking about Pettigrew?" _Sirius asked Crookshanks with surprise.

"_I don't know names; I'm a cat, but I'm sure that we're talking about the same thing. You smell more trustworthy than that rat as well. Is this who you wanted me to meet?" _

"_Yes, he wants the rat dead just like you've been trying to do since you saw him," _Ella started. _"The two of you could work together to get the rat. Two is better than one and he won't be easy to get rid of." _

He looked at her stiffly, _"I work alone, thank you. I've gotten rid of plenty of rats this one shouldn't be any different."_

Ella looked at the cat in disbelief, _"Of course it's different! That rat isn't an actual rat. It's a human pretending to be one meaning it's slightly more intelligent than the average house pet."_

"_Either way, I'm not taking any help; I merely wanted to meet a kindred spirit. Now, the sun will be rising soon, I suggest we return to the school," _Crookshanks began making his way in the direction of the castle, but Ella merely turned to Sirius.

"_He'll come around, I'm sure of it, but he's right. We do need to get back to the castle. The day's about to begin," _Ella explained.

Sirius looked at her curiously, _"Are you a student there?" _

She backed away slightly,_ "I'm not really going to say, I can't say. You don't need to know that because to you I'm just a normal fox."_

"_A normal fox wouldn't know about me, and certainly wouldn't care enough to try to help me take that rat," _Sirius countered.

Ella was glad she was a fox because she was positive that foxes couldn't pale when under pressure, _"I'm not saying anything more. Just try not to stay within the grounds too often, it's dangerous." _

Darting away, Ella caught up to Crookshanks and the two headed back to the dormitory. Ella didn't know why she wouldn't say it was her. It would be perfectly reasonable to let it out, but Ella worried about the fact she was an _illegal_ Animagus. She didn't want to get in trouble with the law in any way much less something like that. She transformed in the hallway outside of her dormitory. As quietly as she could, Ella moved back into the room and decided to lie in the bed until her fellow fourth years had woken up. She allowed herself to smile a bit. The effects of her dream had long since worn off and Ella imagined that this would be the first night of many as a fox.

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**A/N: How was that? Was McLaggen a little too OOC? Thanks for reading! Please review! :) **


	8. Chapter 8: Flight of the Fat Lady

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter! **

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Flight of the Fat Lady

_"Everything you've ever wanted, it's in my hands. You could have it if you just agreed to join me…"_

_ "I will never join you," Ella hissed effectively ending her dream. _

Ella was beginning to form a new sleeping pattern that she preferred to her old one. Each night after her bought of nightmares, she'd creep down to the Common Room then transform into a fox in order to relax a bit before the day started again. Something about the animal form calmed her down and made her thoughts rest easily. She found one night that in her fox form, she didn't dream quite like her human form. She was sure that she could, yet she hadn't.

There had been no more meetings with Sirius since the original encounter, but Ella knew it'd be fine. She couldn't risk Sirius knowing that she wasn't just a fox. He was intelligent enough to guess that she was an Animagus after a couple of minutes with her. Ella didn't want to confirm his thoughts about that, or worse accidentally alert him to who she was.

After another night of resting as an Animagus, Ella crawled into bed as a human only to "wake up" a few minutes later with Katie. Sometimes, Ella considered going to Dumbledore to tell him about the things she saw, but everything was a complete jumble normally and no matter how much it made Ella feel panicky, she couldn't pinpoint why.

Katie was awake a lot sooner than normal, but Ella didn't mind that. The girls made their way to the slowly filling Great Hall for some breakfast. Angelina and Alicia were there already and seemed rather giggly that morning. Ella and Katie shot each other a look of confusion before sitting down across from them.

"Good morning," Katie said curiously and the other two seemed to gain a bit of composure before they broke out in giggles once more.

Ella sighed, "All right, what has you two so worked up this morning?"

Angelina choked out, "Well, we had been sitting down here for a while working on some homework and waiting for everyone else to show up when we began watching the other students. They got us thinking about, well, there are _other _boys in this school. Not just who we hang out with."

Frowning Katie asked, "If you're looking at other boys than George, does that mean you no longer like him?"

"No, nothing like that. We're just looking at them; some of them are rather handsome. We're not dating anyway so I can at least look at the other boys," Angelina blushed.

Alicia continued, "It's true, I've heard other girls doing it all the time. Like some Ravenclaws a few days ago were blushing furiously after discussing that they liked Lee's dreadlocks and humor. I think it's a natural thing for girls to just watch some of the gorgeous guys of this school."

"Well, in that case, I think he's pretty cute. We're speaking in looks only of course, I'd never date a prat like that," Katie said motioning towards McLaggen who had just joined the Gryffindor table.

"I can see that he's handsome, his personality just ruins it though," Alicia stated looking him over indiscreetly. Ella had never really noticed before that McLaggen could be considered dashing in the looks category. She'd seen him as an annoying git, and then a secret friend. It'd never occurred to her that he actually looked good too. Ella could see Katie's attraction, but he was a bit too muscular for her, and after knowing his personality –well, Ella had to admit, she'd never see him as anything more than a friend and even that was a stretch.

Angelina grinned, "I know I'm not supposed to even remotely like Slytherins but…he's cute." The girls followed her gaze to a boy who was sitting among the green and silver classmates. He had a deep cocoa skin and eyes, which Ella admitted were very handsome. Why hadn't she noticed these people before? Ella could feel eyes burning on her. She looked between all of her girl-friends, and they looked at her expectantly.

"What?"

Katie giggled, "Who do you think is handsome? –Other than Fred that is." Ella's cheeks burned at the mention of Fred and Ella's thoughts about him being attractive. She scanned the tables looking about the room for someone attractive. She didn't see Fred and George had entered the room.

"Him! He's very handsome," Ella said pointing to a boy at the Hufflepuff table. The girls all turned around and began giggling. Fred's gaze followed the girls' after hearing Ella's statement. His ears burned red and he scoffed thinking that the boy wasn't _that _good looking.

"Oooh, you're right. He's got a strong build, but he looks like a peaceful observer. He's in our year; we've had a class or two with him. He's not a man of many words," Angelia giggled once more. The other girls joined in until a throat was loudly cleared.

"What are you four talking about?" Fred asked rather loudly.

They looked at each other before Katie stated, "Nothing."

Fred didn't seem too happy as he sat down and began eating breakfast. George glanced towards his twin and decided it'd be better to let him simmer down. Fred, on the other hand, was glaring into his food as if he was willing it to set fire. He knew the boy, a complete heartthrob throughout his grade –Cedric Diggory.

George informed their friends, "Lee's feeling under the weather and is staying in the hospital wing for the day. That means you'll be on your own for this evening, Ella." She sighed remembering that they were having a Quidditch meeting after their classes.

"I'll be alright, don't worry about me," Ella told her friends after receiving many sympathetic glances. She figured that it'd be a perfect opportunity for her to meet Sirius once more. Maybe she'd even bring him some food.

The classes went by agonizingly slow that day. Ella found her mind wandering out of the window more often than focusing on the lessons themselves. She wished she would've had Defense Against the Dark Arts that day instead of History of Magic because the latter of the two was hard enough to focus on when she didn't have plans for that night. Finally, all the Quidditch players told Ella goodbye and left to go discuss tactics with their captain.

As soon as they were gone, Ella went up to her dorm to transform. As soon as she was a fox, she quickly skirted the Common Room until she had reached the secret passageway that led to the grounds. A small knapsack was sitting in the vicinity of the passage that Ella had placed there earlier that day in order to not be caught by anyone. She dragged the food bag with her teeth all the way until she reached the forest. Part of her mind wondered what it would look like if someone saw a fox dragging a heavy bag around the grounds, but then decided that it'd be far from the truth and shouldn't be worried.

"_Sirius! Sirius Black!" _Ella sang out into the forest. It only came out as barks, but Ella knew he could understand it.

It took at least twenty minutes but he finally appeared out of the forest, _"What are you doing out here?"_

"_I'm looking for you, I thought that was fairly obvious from the yelling," _Ella told him. Sirius regarded her carefully.

"_Where's the cat?" _He questioned her.

"_I don't think he's interested in joining you for help yet. I can't interfere at all, or I'd offer my own services. But, I'm also against the idea of murder so it really wouldn't do any good to have me with you," _Ella informed him sheepishly.

Sirius looked her over, _"You know, he's been coming out here nearly every night to find out my intent. It's been difficult to get through to him, but I'm slowly communicating what I want to do and why. He mentioned you once, funny enough."_

"_He did?" _Ella tried speaking with a light tone, but found herself unconsciously backing away from him.

"_Told me about your wish to have us work together and how you were friends with his owner back at the school. So I'd already figured you were an Animagus, but then he mentioned that his owner called you Ella. Strange to think I know a very bright witch by the name of Ella who goes to Hogwarts," _Sirius stated with a stern look in her direction.

Ella pawed at the ground,_ "So much for hoping you wouldn't notice it was me."_

He gave her a slightly disapproving look, _"I know I'm not really one to talk since I'm an illegal Animagus myself, but this is an extremely dangerous transformation to make. How long have you been able to transform?"_

"_I did my first transformation at the end of last year. I would've told you I could do this, but it is illegal after all and I don't want to get in trouble if people were to find out," _Ella frowned at the idea of getting thrown in jail. What would Mrs. Weasley think of her?

"_And who am I going to tell if I'm on the run?" _Sirius barked at her.

She shifted a bit, _"I don't know, but that's the thing. I don't want to risk something if I don't know it. Most people know about my dreams, but you're the only person who knows I'm an Animagus. What if you were forced to drink a truth serum and the Ministry found out that I was an Animagus?"_

Sirius countered, _"If that were to happen, they'd probably realize I was innocent and that you were helping me for good reason. You'd get registered and there'd be no lasting harm."_

"_That's what you think. I can't let the Ministry know what I am. I don't know why, but I do know they can't even have an inkling about it,"_ Ella tried to convince him, but the skeptical look he gave her made it seem like the idea hadn't sunk in yet.

"_I won't tell the Ministry on you, I don't plan on being caught in the slightest anyway. I'll keep your secret safe in return for keeping mine, Ella,"_ said Sirius in a gentler tone.

"_Thank you, now I need to get back up to the school before someone notices I'm gone. Keep trying to talk the cat around. He'll be more likely to help than me. I don't interfere with the future, I'm not able to," _Ella quickly explained. _"Oh and this bag is for you. It's filled with food so you don't starve to death." _Ella told him good night then rushed back to the Gryffindor Common Room through the secret hatchway.

As the weeks moved one, Fred lightened up about overhearing Ella thought another guy was cute. He couldn't stay mad forever, especially since she didn't realize he had even heard her say it. Not to mention, he was positive that he looked better in any case. Plus, he had brains on his side, which that dimwit couldn't have, right? Fred wanted to believe that just so he could get the little green monster out of his stomach.

Ella found herself too busy to worry about Sirius for the time being. She was working on her own mound of homework combined with learning bits of her friends' since they had Quidditch practice three times a week and would need help. It gave Ella a lot of time to think and study while they were gone. Then when they returned she could fully enjoy spending time with all of them without an essay due date looming over her head. Ella just loved studying the world around her. Something about doing magic homework in a magic school made things so much better and easier.

"Hogsmeade date just got posted. It's on Halloween again, only no missing class this year because it falls on a Sunday," Lee told her sitting down. It was just the two of them during Quidditch practices. They didn't care though. It gave them time to talk without interruption. It was hard for anyone to have a full conversation with Fred and George in the room.

"Well, I'm glad. I could use some sweets from Honeydukes and a butterbeer if it's cold enough," Ella stated pleasantly.

Lee grinned, "Believe me; it'll definitely be cold enough for it. If this weather we've been having is an indication. I suspect a butterbeer will be perfect after a stroll through the town." The two relaxed for a bit and worked on their homework while making small talk. Every so often, their gaze would drift out the darkening window wondering just how well their friends' practice was going.

A low buzz was growing throughout the room as more people saw the notice about the Hogsmeade visit. By the time Harry and the twins arrived in the room spattered with mud, the entire Common Room was filled with happy students discussing what they'd do for the day.

"What's happened?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione who were sitting only a table away.

Ron pointed to the old bulletin board, "First Hogsmeade weekend. End of October. Halloween."

Fred grinned, "Excellent! I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets." He and George had made their way to where Ella and Lee were sitting by now.

"And what do you need so many Stink Pellets for?" Ella asked tauntingly.

"You know, the usual," Fred responded vaguely.

George finished, "Ruckus causing, Filch finagling, and our twin trickster ways of life."

Ella shook her head in fond exasperation, "You two are absolutely unbelievable."

"Thanks!" They said with a proud smile.

Lee glanced around the room, "Where are the girls? No one's hurt are they?" Ella looked around and also noticed that Katie, Angelina, and Alicia were all missing.

"No, they're like any other girl. They prefer to get cleaned up before coming to the Common Room. They don't want everyone to see them covered in mud," George explained.

"But we're not like that, we love the manly smell of mud," Fred joked pretending to waft the manly smell towards Ella and Lee.

"Well, keep that manly smell away from me," Ella told him plugging her nose. "I'm a girl like Angelina and Alicia –I don't really mind mud, but the smell of you two is another story."

Fred was about to reply when and outburst from Ron stopped him dead, "OY! GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!" The entire Common Room went silent at the sight of Hermione's cat sinking its claws into Ron's bag. Crookshanks slashed and spit at the bag tearing it to shreds.

Hermione looked horrified, "Ron, don't hurt him!" Ron spun the bag in a circle with dislodged the rat from what was left of the bag. Scabbers sprinted off as Crookshanks attempted to quickly free himself from the bag.

"CATCH THAT CAT!" Ron bellowed and George lunged towards it. He missed by a fraction of an inch and Ella watched Crookshanks chase Pettigrew with bated breath. Part of her wished the cat would catch him, but she still had mixed feelings about the rat being eaten since she knew it was actually a person.

Scabbers slid under an old chest of drawers just out of reach from the bandy-legged cat. Crookshanks swiped under the chest furiously until Hermione heaved him away. Ron pulled Scabbers out by the tail and showed him to Hermione who still held the wiggling cat.

"Look at him! He's skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!" Ron snapped furiously. Ella personally hoped that Crookshanks would keep close to the rat; at the very least he could scare the nasty little Animagus.

"Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong! All cats chase rats, Ron!" Hermione argued with a shaking voice. Ella seriously doubted that Crookshanks was one to chase ordinary rats with such persistence, but far be it from her to bring that up.

Ron glared at Crookshanks, "There's something funny about that animal! It heard me say that Scabbers was in my bag!" He was trying to shove the struggling creature back into his pocket. Ella remembered a time when she thought nothing of the rat in Ron's pocket. She missed those times.

"Oh, what rubbish," Hermione said impatiently. "Crookshanks could _smell_ him, Ron, how else d'you think –"

"That cat's got it in for Scabbers! And Scabbers was here first, _and_ he's ill," Ron stated indignantly ignoring the giggles breaking out in the Common Room. He then retreated to his dormitory for the night. As soon as Ron had gone, Hermione let Crookshanks fall to the ground once more. The ginger cat's eyes travelled up towards the door in something that was the cat equivalent of a glare, but he decided that Scabbers was officially out of reach.

The animal made its way over to where Ella was currently sitting and hopped onto her lap. She glanced down at the cat and scratched behind one of his ears. She figured the message was quite clear. Crookshanks finally wanted to accept the offer to help Sirius take Pettigrew down.

"I think Ron's right, that cat seems to particularly have it in for Scabbers," George said dusting off his already dirty self.

Ella rolled her eyes, "You sound like Ron, it's only a cat. The thing doesn't know the difference between a common rat and a house pet. Do you, Crookshanks?" She pet Crookshanks and he began to purr deeply. "Wait for me tonight. Around one in the morning, I'll come downstairs when the've all gone to bed. Then we'll go see him." The purring increased and Ella wondered if the cat really could understand her, or if that was the kneazle side of him.

Either way, Ella found herself standing in front of him several hours later as a fox. The two silently made their way to the grounds and Ella called once more for Sirius to come find them. Crookshanks stood silently, his yellow eyes scanned through the Forbidden Forest warily, but the cat remained mute.

"_You called, Ella?" _Sirius asked her as he appeared out of the forest's darkness.

"_On my behalf, she called you," _Crookshanks replied. _"I've agreed to help you on your quest to rid the world of that cursed rat. Ella is right; we'll need each other's help to get him."_

"_Is that so?" _asked Sirius seriously.

The cat gave a curt nod, _"I was after him to protect my owner from him. I could sense the dishonesty in it from the moment I smelled him in the pet shop. You have a more worthy cause for disposing of him. I'd be honored to help you."_ Crookshanks bowed deeply and Sirius looked slightly uncomfortable at the action.

Sirius relaxed, _"We'll have to plan something in order to take down Pettigrew, but we can discuss the finer details later. Ella," _he addressed the fox with drooping eyes.

"_What?"_ She mumbled once more becoming alert.

He smiled gently, _"Shouldn't you be going to bed? It's late and you've got school in the morning. You shouldn't be out this late."_

Ella pouted slightly, _"I'm not always out this late, and I'm here for a good reason at least. I've finished all my homework too."_

Sirius scoffed, _"I don't care about homework. I just think that someone your age needs to be asleep at this time of night."_

"_Fine, but you can't stop me from ever coming out. You're not my father or anything of the sort," _Ella sniffed, but she had to admit she felt tired. Ella slowly made her way back to the dormitory to sleep. Her dreams had finally died down enough that she was able to sleep without fear of nightmares.

Over the next week or two, Ella noticed that Crookshanks was rarely in Gryffindor Tower. She didn't try sneaking back outside for the time being. There was work to be done in her human life and Hogsmeade was on its way. Halloween had arrived before most people could believe it. The time moved slowly then the event was there all at once.

Her friends made their way down to Hogsmeade quickly and quietly. No one felt like being too cheerful as they passed the dementors that guarded the gates. Ella shrank slightly behind her friends as the creatures glided a little closer, but soon enough they were in the warm village of Hogsmeade. Well –it would've been had the wind relaxed a bit. It whipped about stinging everyone's faces as they made their way from shop to shop.

Ella and her friends had cheeks stained with red after only an hour of shopping. Part of Ella believed she'd never truly be warm again. The other part just wanted a butterbeer and to be with her friends in this cute little town forever. Fred got his Stink Pellets and Ella got her sweets. Everyone was excited to be out of the school even if winter seemed to be breathing down their necks. Ella even caught sight of Hermione pulling Ron from place to place once. She'd be in for a lot of work once they reached Honeydukes. That store would be heaven for a boy like Ron. Ella felt bad that Harry couldn't be there, but he'd find something to occupy his time. They returned to the school in much better spirits and even the dementors seemed to keep away.

The Halloween feast was a wonderful event where the food was piled high and the entertainment was, as always, top-notch. The Gryffindor House ghost reenacted his own botched beheading and all the Hogwarts ghosts worked together to do formation gliding. Fred, George, and Ella cheered despite their stuffed stomachs feeling ready to burst. Ella felt like this Halloween would be the first in two years where there wouldn't be some large event to ruin it for the school. The year before, the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, and before that their ex-Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell, released a troll.

As everything wrapped up, the Gryffindors headed back to their Common Room. Ella moved there slowly with her friends, none of them were ready for the night to end. They had nearly made it there when the seven friends found themselves stuck in a type of traffic jam.

"What's going on?" Lee asked trying to shove ahead. A few seventh years shot him a glare and he decided to stay put.

Others were beginning to ask Lee's question and Ella attempted to see between people's heads, "I think the Fat Lady isn't there…"

"Why wouldn't she be?" George asked.

"She's always there after feasts," Fred affirmed.

"Let me through, please," Percy stated firmly behind the crowd. "What's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password –excuse me, I'm Head Boy –"

Fred groaned, "Like we could ever forget." But despite Fred's joking tone, the crowd fell silent around them. A concerned look was passed between Ella and the twins.

Percy's voice was suddenly sharp and rang out over the crowd, "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick." A couple sixth years behind them scrambled to get the Headmaster.

Angelina tried to look over the others' heads, "What's happening? Why can't we go into the Common Room?"

"Not sure, but it has to be something serious otherwise Percy wouldn't have called for Dumbledore," Ella said trying to see the portrait as well. "What is it about Halloween that screams everything has to go wrong?"

George shrugged, "Coincidence?" The crowd squeezed together to allow Dumbledore to pass through. Shortly after Dumbledore arrived, Professor Snape, McGonagall, and Lupin scurried onto the scene. Ella still wasn't able to hear what was being said, but Peeves cackled around the staircase.

"You'll be lucky!" Peeves told the Professors up ahead. Ella strained her eyes to hear the conversation between the group of people.

Dumbledore calmly questioned, "What do you mean, Peeves?"

His voice turned from cackling to greasy in a matter of seconds, "Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful. Poor thing." Ella glanced worriedly towards the twins who met her gaze with equal dread.

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore asked quietly, Ella had to strain her ears to hear him. She got the distinct impression that the Headmaster already knew who it was.

Just then, someone shifted in front of her and Ella got her first sight of what cause all the commotion earlier. The Fat Lady's portrait was slashed horribly. There were tattered bits lying on the floor and huge gaps missing. Ella couldn't even imagine who could do that to her. No matter how annoying the portrait could be, she wouldn't think someone could attack her. The whole of the Gryffindors listened intently to hear what Peeves had to say.

Peeves spoke loud and clear in the most measured voice Ella had ever heard him use, "Oh yes, Professorhead. He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see. –Nasty tempter he's got, that Sirius Black."

Ella's jaw dropped.

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**A/N: I've got an ultimatum for you all, if this story can get five more reviews, I will post the next chapter tonight. I don't lie when I say Chapter 9 is my favorite chapter I have written of Ella's story yet. I adore it. So please review and possibly get another chapter in a little bit! :) **


	9. Chapter 9: Grim Defeat

**I don't own the Harry Potter series, all rights go to J.K. Rowling.**

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Grim Defeat

The Gryffindors were all sent to the Great Hall to wait until for further instruction. They stood around and gossiped about what had happened. Ella filled her friends in on what she'd seen of the portrait. Everyone seemed a little frightened by the knowledge that Sirius Black had been in the castle and attempted to break into Gryffindor Tower. Ella feigned her fright, but deep down she was livid at the bloody idiot for trying to do something so stupid. Entering the castle in the middle of a feast and slashing a portrait?

She was going to strangle him when she saw him next.

Ten minutes passed before Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin joined the Gryffindors in the Great Hall. Everyone looked either confused or annoyed –Malfoy seemed to be both. The hall fell silent as Dumbledore began giving orders.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle. I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately," he told the room. Percy looked very proud and Ella noticed Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall had closed all of the doors. "Send word with one of the ghosts. –Oh, yes, you'll be needing…"

Everyone watched in awe as Dumbledore casually flicked his wand to make the tables move towards the walls. Another motion made hundreds of purple sleeping bags appear. The hall was amazed by the ability to create so many of something, and a nonverbal spell too. Ella was torn between her fascination and fright. It'd be a night where if she fell asleep she could wake up the entire student body with a blood curdling scream.

He grinned, "Sleep well." And with that he was gone.

"Ella!"

"Ella, what happened?"

Cho and Cormac came rushing over to her to the shock of all Ella's friends. Ella stood frozen wondering what had just happened. There had been an unspoken agreement to only be friends inside of Divinations. Why were they ruining that?

Fred gained his tongue faster than Ella, "What do you want with Ella, McLaggen?" His tone was biting but McLaggen, who was much burlier than Fred, stood his ground.

"I thought what we wanted was clear, Weasley. We thought she'd be able to tell us what happened," he argued. Fred's ears had turned red and McLaggen's face was slowly turning the same color.

"Why would Ella want to talk to the likes of you?" George spat coming to his brother's aid.

"Knock it off, all of you!" Ella snapped moving to be in the middle of their row. "He wants to know because we're friends."

"_WHAT?_" Katie, Angelina, Alicia, Lee, Fred, and George all shouted at once.

Lee looked flabbergasted by the very thought, "Why would you want to be friends with _him_? He's a prat!"

Fred nodded vehemently, "He is, and he's insulted George and I."

"Look, I know he's a prat," Cormac made a motion as if to interrupt, "no, you are. He's very egotistical, but he and Cho are the only things that make Divinations bearable. You lot don't seem to realize that you've all got friends in your classes because you all take the same classes and are all in the same year. Katie and I are the only two in our year of this group of friends so when she chose Muggle Studies and I decided on Divinations, we both lost the one person we always spent classes with! I bet you anything that Katie has made at least one other friend to hang around during Muggle Studies."

All eyes turned on Katie who admitted, "There's a really nice girl from Hufflepuff in my class. Her name's Leanne. We've been friends since last year just in that class, though."

Ella looked at her friends, "See? We have to make other friends when we're in those classes. Which would you rather: my being alone or being an acquaintance to McLaggen?"

Percy's voice broke off their conversation, "Everyone into their sleeping bags! Come on, now; no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!" The entire group grabbed their sleeping bags and Cho moved back to her Ravenclaw friends.

"I think it's fine, maybe Ella will rub off on him," Angelina said with a pointed look towards the boys. George looked slightly ashamed as did Lee, but Fred kept his glare fixed on Cormac. McLaggen's heated gaze never drifted from Fred either.

McLaggen kept close and Ella noticed with a sinking feeling in her stomach that Fred moved to be slightly further away from her than he would've normally. She was upset, but also angry at him for being so childish. What was he so worried about? He and George were obviously still her best friends so what would her minor friendship with Cormac have to do with that? All around them, people were making the most ludicrous guesses about how Sirius disguised himself.

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted sternly. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!" Every candle in the Great Hall simultaneously went out. Ella crawled into her sleeping bag and stared up at the starry ceiling above her. Sleeping in the Great Hall wouldn't be so bad –she couldn't actually sleep, but she could at least look at the sky.

Fred watched her warily with a racing mind. First Diggory, now McLaggen? Was she trying to make him go mad with jealousy? What was she even playing at with being friends with McLaggen? She was much better than the likes of him! What if she expected him to be friends with McLaggen? That would never happen in a million years. He hated how fast his heart was pumping and how much it hurt to let his mind wander to whether she liked McLaggen as more than just a friend. The possibility could've been there for all he knew, but it hurt to think about.

While everyone else dozed off shortly after the lights went out, Ella stayed lying on her back and staring at the night above her. The inky darkness seemed to span on forever. It was a slightly comforting visual for Ella. She watched above her knowing that there was a great amount of unknown above her and she didn't have to have all the answers to the world.

"Ella, what are you doing awake still?" Percy whispered kneeling beside her.

She propped herself up on her elbows and softly replied, "I can't sleep in here, if I sleep I'll have a nightmare."

Percy frowned, "I don't think you should stay awake all night, you'll be awfully tired for classes tomorrow."

"If I do fall asleep and have a nightmare, I'll wake up screaming like I do nearly every night. I don't want to wake the rest of the hall. They'll panic –they'll believe Sirius Black murdered someone."

He sighed, "All right, but maybe you should go to Madam Pomfrey in the morning instead of class. If you don't have a difficult morning schedule then you could go rest there until after lunch."

"Thanks, Percy," Ella said with a small smile. He returned an equally small one before returning to his patrols. There was very little noise until three in the morning when Dumbledore returned.

"Any sign of him, Professor?" Percy whispered in the hall. Only a few snores could be heard, Ella assumed nearly everyone was asleep. Ella held her breath hoping Sirius wasn't caught.

"No. All well here?"

Percy responded, "Everything under control, sir." Ella felt like Percy was channeling his inner solider at this point.

"Good. There's no point moving them all now. I've found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You'll be able to move them back in tomorrow."

"And the Fat Lady, sir?"

"Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. Apparently she refused to let Black in without the password, so he attacked. She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr. Filch restore her," Dumbledore explained to Percy. Ella huffed in her mind. What had Sirius been thinking? Well, obviously, he hadn't been.

The door creaked open and Snape entered, "Headmaster? The whole of the third floor has been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either."

Dumbledore questioned in return, "What about the Astronomy tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery?"

"All searched…"

Dumbledore released a sigh, "Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger."

"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" asked Snape sounding bitter.

"Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the other," Dumbledore's eyes flicked her and they held each other's gaze for a split second. Ella got the distinct impression that the Headmaster wanted to question her knowledge on the event.

Snape went on to say, "You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before –ah –the start of term?" Ella's eyebrows rose wondering what Snape's theory was. Surely, not the truth?

There was a warning laced in the Headmaster's voice, "I do, Severus."

Without care for the warning, Snape continued, "It seems –almost impossible –that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concern when you appointed –" Ella's eyes widened at the insinuation that Lupin was the one aiding Black.

"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it," Dumbledore said with a tone the shut Snape's side of the conversation down. Ella felt slightly guilty at the statement knowing that she was helping Sirius. She didn't help him enter Hogwarts, that was probably Crookshanks, but she had fed him before and talked to him. In a way, she was breaking Dumbledore's trust but, Ella reminded herself, it was for good reason. "I must go down to the dementors. I said I would inform them when our search was complete."

"Didn't they want to help, sir?" Percy questioned him.

Dumbledore said in a stone cold tone, "Oh yes, but I'm afraid no dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am headmaster."

Percy looked abashed, but Ella had to agree with Dumbledore. Those dementors were too frightening to allow on the school grounds in general. If Percy had the same experience as she or Harry did, he'd understand why creatures like that shouldn't exist. Ella looked back up towards the ceiling and shifted deeper into her bag.

Her eyelids drooped, but she forced them open once more. She couldn't afford to fall asleep. The only people who knew what it was like to be in a room with her and her nightmares was Katie and the other Gryffindor fourth year girls. Ella couldn't imagine the horror that her fifth year friends would face if they were to hear the results of these dreams. They'd got a dose of it her second year when her curse had reacted with her vision of Quirrell, but they really didn't have a clue that she dealt with something like that every night. The twins –well, they had never seen something like that from her before. Even if they were mad at her, she assumed they'd still be worried –or she hoped they would be. Her eyes slid a little farther; she couldn't fight it much longer.

_Ella stood inside a House. If she looked out the window, she'd see she was on the second floor, but Ella wasn't taking in her surroundings. A mother cradling her child in fear was what held her attention. The woman with long red hair and frantic green eyes had attempted to barricade the doors to the room. It was all blasted away, though, and she dropped the baby with a mop of black hair into the crib._

_A man Ella had only seen in her worst nightmares appeared in the doorway. His red eyes were narrow slits and this woman threw her arms out wide to guard the child. Ella knew it was useless and the woman seemed to know it too, but how could she not try to protect the child? _

"_Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!" She begged desperately. Her fear intertwined with her words and Ella's heart clenched at the awful sight in front of her. She finally knew what she was watching –it was the past. A horrible, horrible part of the past that Ella would never be able to change. _

_Voldemort took no pity on her, "Stand aside, you silly girl…stand aside, now."_

"_Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead –" Ella watched with wide, frightened eyes. She wanted the dream to change. This wasn't something she needed to see, not at all._

_Ella watched Voldemort lose his patience, "This is my last warning –"_

_Lily Potter continued to plead with the merciless man, "Not Harry! Please…have mercy…have mercy… Not Harry! Not Harry! Please –I'll do anything –" _

"_Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!" Ella knew she never would. Her posture screamed protection and Ella could sense a bit of Mrs. Weasley in the young Mrs. Potter. Voldemort grew tired of her refusal and Ella watched in terror as a jet of green light hit her. Lily Potter dropped to the floor, dead. _

"_I don't want to be here anymore," Ella thought desperately, but she didn't have the control she wanted. The curse blocked her attempts to move away from this awful night._

_Harry looked at the man with wonder. He didn't understand the scene in front of him, but why should he? He was only a little baby standing in his crib. Voldemort raised his wand to the baby's face and stared at him intently. Harry began to cry and wail like any child would. He didn't understand what was happening, and Ella wanted more than anything to put a stop to it. _

"_Avada Kedavra!" He yelled and a jet of green light illuminated the room. _

"_NO!" Ella screamed as she closed her eyes at the awful sight. As soon as the scream ripped off her lips, she knew the vision was over._

_A light breeze picked up her hair and Ella slowly opened her eyes. She was standing above the patches of snow once more. Her head seemed clouded and the world spun. Her eyes fell on the crimson spot on the ground. The mar on the pure snow. Whose? Why? Where? Ella's mind raced with questions, but she was aware of the falling sensation. She was crashing to the ground and suddenly pain flared around her. _

_It was in her head like when the Bludger had hit it. Her hand burned from another dream. Ella could feel her heart clenching like it had when she was Petrified. There were other pains that were worse, but Ella's mind seemed to be holding them at bay. She only felt a fraction of what the true pain would actually be. Lily's begging entered into the pain and the Longbottoms' screams of pain mingled into the mix. _

"_Not Harry!" _

"_CRUCIO!"_

"_Time is ticking….time is ticking…"_

"Ella! Wake up! ELLA!" Katie was frantically shaking her. Ella's eyes opened and darted around only half understanding what was going on or where she was.

She shot up as soon as she remembered she was in the Great Hall, "What? I wasn't screaming was I?"

Katie shook her head, "No, you were thrashing and whimpering. I figured the screaming would come soon, so I decided it'd be best to wake you. Don't worry, not many people are up right now. It's still early." Ella nodded slightly and Katie gave her a quick hug before going back to her sleeping bag. She quickly looked over to the twins and noted that they were both sleeping soundly.

About an hour later, everyone was up and breakfast was being served. The twins chose to sit away from Ella, which prompted her to not eat. Between her dreams and the cold shoulder her best friends were giving her, she lost any appetite she might have had before. It was only Fred and George that seemed to have a problem with her. The others were fine with her friendship, a little skeptical, but willing to let it be.

The day passed in a similar manner. Everything was the same, except for two things. First was the alarming amount of gossip circulating about how Sirius Black managed to get in the castle. Then there was the identical red-heads who decided they no longer were on speaking terms with Ella. Throughout the day, Ella became more and more irritable. The boys were acting like children. What had she done to deserve that? Cho found her in the halls and apologized saying she should've realized it was a bad idea for her and Cormac to come up. Cormac acted the same as ever, but Cho said she was sure he must have felt bad…deep down. Ella told her she didn't need to worry about it –it was bound to happen sometime.

Dumbledore summoned her to his office after all of her classes had finished for the day. She went there reluctantly, knowing she'd have to lie to one of the people she admired most. After all, he was the one to give her a solution to her curse, no matter how awful.

"Come in, Ella," a strained voice called out just as she was about to knock.

Ella entered the room, "You wanted to see me, Professor Dumbledore?"

He nodded, "Yes, I was hoping to talk to you about Sirius Black. Have you seen where he is hiding or anything about how he was able to get in the castle last night?"

"No, sir, I haven't seen a thing about him," Ella said trying to will her voice not to give her lie away. Dumbledore's blue eyes pierced into hers.

"Nothing at all?" He questioned and Ella paused.

Should she tell him? Should she inform Dumbledore here and now that Peter Pettigrew was alive and hiding in a fourth year boy's dormitory up in Gryffindor tower? She could clear Sirius here and now; he'd be a free man. They could prove it completely. Her stomach clenched like with her curse. The reminder that the smallest alteration could have the biggest consequence. Ella curled and uncurled her hands into fists. The death of all of her friends or the freedom of an innocent man? She couldn't think about which would be the right decision. Why should she have to make decisions like this at the age of fourteen? The future was trick, as was the present and past. Ella felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. Should she tell? Could she put everyone she loved on the line for a man and a rat?

"No…I really haven't seen anything helpful," Ella deadpanned to him.

Dumbledore nodded solemnly, "Very well, that was all I needed. You may go." Ella moved out of the room with a ball of guilt rolling in her stomach. As soon as she left she slid down the wall defeated with tears rolling down her face.

Never in her life had she held such an important decision in her hand. She was too afraid of the future that crept closer and closer. Ella had only ever been told to keep the future secret so it wouldn't be changed. If she hid the future, then things would go as planned, but if she hid the future an innocent man would remain on the run. She had Sirius and Pettigrew's blood on her hands now. She didn't know whether she had made the right choice or not. She was the future's puppet, but the strings jerked her in directions that she didn't want to go. The future could jerk her any way it wanted, but she was going to make sure she had friends by her side regardless.

When Ella entered the Common Room after her meeting with Dumbledore, the twins made a move to go to their dormitory. She wasn't going to have that though. She was fed up with the events of that day. No, she was not someone who was going to sit around and take this from them. Her parents walked all over her and ignored her enough; she didn't need them to do that as well. The two got close to the stairs. They would've made it too –if Ella hadn't been so quick with her wand.

"_Petrificus Totalus!" _She cried out and both the boys collapsed to the floor. They were stuck, but still conscious, which is exactly what Ella needed. Others in the Common Room looked over at them with mild interest. Percy moved towards them with the intent to tell off Ella for using magic like this, but then backed off. Far be it from him to prevent someone from telling off the twins.

Ella took a deep breath, "Sorry, boys, but you left me no choice. This was the only way I saw that I'd be able to talk to you without interruptions. So here I go, you're both being idiots. Why do you care so much that I'm friends –and I use that term loosely –with McLaggen? Yes, he insulted you, but if you've noticed, he hasn't insulted you since we began hanging out in Divinations. We both needed a friend in that class, so we did what was necessary. This isn't going to affect our friendship! You two are my best friends and he's not going to get in the way of that, not in the slightest. What? Do I lose my two best friends just because I became friends with someone else? Doesn't that seem unfair?

"I swear, you two are acting like the biggest drama queens on the planet right now. Originally, I thought being near McLaggen would be awful, but he and Cho despise those lessons as much as I do. It is what it is, and if you two can't accept that then I don't know who you are anymore."

With that she released the spell and moved to go to the girl's dormitory. A hand curled around her wrist gently to stop her from going farther. She turned to face Fred and George who both looked incredibly sheepish.

Fred dropped her wrist and acknowledged, "We were being idiots. You're right… It's just –"

"You're our best friend too, Ella. We were worried that you'd think McLaggen was better than us or richer and you wouldn't want to be around us if you could be around him," George explained.

"It was childish."

"Idiotic."

She looked up at the two of them, "He's not going to replace either of you. It's not possible for anyone to replace you." The boys couldn't help but give Ella a bone-crushing hug after that. The rest of the night, the two boys tried making as many jokes as possible. Fred and George lit off an astounding amount of Filibuster Fireworks. At one point, the boys went on either side of Ella and used her hair for an impression of Professor Dumbledore.

It was eleven o'clock when the group moved to go upstairs. Only a couple students remained in the Common Room, one of them was Percy who was studying for a Charms exam. Normally, he would've put a stop to everything the twins did –it was true that even now he didn't approve of any of their antics. But when Ella was telling the two of them off, he saw something that made him stop. He'd often watched his mother scold the twins or any of her children. The fire that was in Mrs. Weasley's eyes reflected in Ella's. Afterwards, he didn't interfere because he wanted the friends to make up. Ella kept the two of them in line when she could, and the boys would be miserable without her. Percy chuckled to himself.

"_Wait until mother hears about this."_

At one in the morning, Ella snuck out of her dormitory and transformed into her fox. She zipped through the Common room and quickly made her way to the grounds. She was on a mission and couldn't let herself sleep until she had completed it. She searched the forest for nearly an hour looking for the dog.

"_You!_" She growled when she finally stumbled upon him and Crookshanks.

"Me?" Sirius stated puzzled.

"What were you thinking? Coming into the school during the feast! That was completely brainless!" Ella snapped at him.

Sirius rolled him eyes, "It was just an attempt. I had hoped that I could persuade the Fat Lady to let me in."

Ella looked at him in disbelief, "So when she didn't do that and did her job instead, you destroyed her portrait? Good job not making yourself seem unhinged."

"I don't need to appear sane, but I did lose my temper with her. I've got a bit of a nasty temper about me," Sirius explained without much care. "I'm just furious that I still haven't caught that rat."

"And you never will if you keep making dumb choices like that."

He barked out a laugh, "Haven't you ever heard of sheer dumb luck?"

"Yes, and it would appear you don't have it," Ella quipped which shut Sirius up.

"Well, have you only come to yell at me or do you have another reason for sneaking out tonight?"

She sighed knowing that she couldn't stay upset at a desperate man, "No, but it was the main reason. There's a Quidditch match on Saturday. I just thought you may like to see it since Harry's on the team."

Sirius looked at her with wide eyes, "Is he a Chaser? James was a Chaser."

"Seeker." The dog's face fell. "He's not James, Sirius. He's his son who looks insanely like him. You can't count on the boy to be the incarnation of your best friend –he's close but he'll never be the real thing."

"I know that…" Sirius mumbled.

"Good."

There was a pause before Sirius asked, "Is he any good?"

Ella grinned, "He's never lost a match. We should've won the Quidditch Cup the last two years, but circumstances have popped up each year that prevented it. Last year, Quidditch was cancelled because the Chamber of Secrets had reopened and too many students were attacked –I was one of them, but everyone survived just fine. Then before that, Harry was in the hospital wing after being attacked by Voldemort who was attached to the back of a Professor's head!"

Sirius gaped at her, "Never a dull moment at Hogwarts is there? Well, I'll want to know about those events later, but Quidditch is more important than them at the moment. How's the Gryffindor team looking?"

"Amazing! I'm friends with half the team. Harry's Seeker as I said, he's got a keen eye for the Snitch and has been known to catch it with record speed. The three Chasers are Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson –all of them are close friends of mine and superb. Then we've got the Weasley twins as our Beaters. They're my best friends and also fantastic. Then Oliver Wood is the Keeper and Captain, he's a bit obsessed, but rarely misses a save!" Ella explained excitedly.

"Sounds like you're quite the fan," Sirius responded with a grin.

She smiled, "Who isn't? I'd love to be on the team, but I can't interfere with the future so I just have to survive with being on the sidelines."

A drop of rain fell from the sky and landed on Ella's nose. She wrinkled it a bit and looked up at the stormy sky. She shivered slightly at the cold, wet month they were entering.

"There'll be more where that came from. You'd better head back to the school before it starts to pour," Sirius told her. She and Crookshanks darted off without getting too soaked. When Ella transformed back in the Common Room, she noticed that it was five in the morning. There was no way possible that she'd be able to sleep that night –not that she even wanted to. She'd rather be tired than dream again.

Ella decided the best way to use her time wisely would be to take a nice hot shower then go eat something. She hadn't eaten much the day before and was nearly famished. It was a while before any of her friends made an appearance in the Great Hall. She'd already finished a History of Magic essay and a lunar Chart for Astronomy by the time the rest of her friends sat down with bleary eyes and stifled yawns.

The rest of the week flew by with gaining excitement over Quidditch and gossip about the –now just absurd –assumptions about how Sirius Black entered the castle. Ella felt bad for Harry who was now being trailed around by someone at all times. Percy had orders from Mrs. Weasley to follow him wherever he went. Ella pitied him, but it was also slightly hilarious when Fred and George attempted to carry him to a class insisting that Black may have made a Harry-specific poison and laced the floor with it. Harry didn't buy this and they couldn't get him to play along.

If there was anything that had changed for the worse over the next few days, it was the new portrait that guarded their Common room. He was called Sir Cadogan and was completely bonkers. He made nearly three passwords per day and each became more eccentric as time passed. Ella had never had any trouble keeping up with passwords when it was the Fat Lady, but now she was beginning to question which password was being used at the moment. Neville Longbottom seemed to have an increasingly difficult time remembering the passwords.

"Try keeping a list, that may help," Ella suggested helpfully.

On Thursday, Ella and Lee were left in the Common Room while everyone went down to the pitch for their last practice. When they came back, they were all grumbling about the Slytherins and their usual tricks. Now the team would be facing Hufflepuff instead. Katie managed to tell Ella that Fred seemed very touchy about the subject of Cedric Diggory –almost jealous. Ella figured Katie was imagining things, but she kind of thought the idea of Fred being jealous was cute.

The morning of the match dawned stormy and cold. The roar of wind and thunder made Ella's eardrums rattle. Nevertheless, the game would go on as they always did. She felt bad for her friends as they looked out the window of the Common Room at the threatening sky. No matter how apprehensive the Quidditch team was about playing, the rest of the school was still buzzing with excitement.

"It's going to be a tough one," Wood told his teammates. Ella didn't like the green tinge to his skin or that he wasn't even touching his food.

Alicia tried to sooth him by saying, "Stop worrying, Oliver, we don't mind a bit of rain."

"Bit of rain my backside," Fred whispered to Ella. "It sounds like a hoard of trolls is having a party on top of the castle." The team braved their way to the field a little after that. Lee and Ella dashed towards the announcer's booth a bit after. They were thoroughly soaked after two seconds of being in the gale.

Lee shouted over the rain, "No one is going to hear me in this!"

"I'm next to you and I can't hear you!" Ella bellowed back. She had tucked an umbrella under her cloak and used a sticking charm so it stayed put with both of them under it. Rain still whipped around them, but some of it was kept out. The teams made their way onto the field and the whistle blew to signal the beginning of the game.

"AND THEY'RE OFF!" Lee yelled into the enchanted microphone. The noise was lost in the rain and Lee kept choking on the rain water that flew into his mouth.

Ella watched the game –or tried her hardest to. There was no way possible to distinguish any of the players. Lee was bellowing about the scores every time someone managed to get a point, but neither of them could figure out who had scored them. Bludgers nearly hit players, but no one could tell who hit them that way. Ella was becoming uncomfortably wet as the sky grew darker. Soon enough, night would be there and what chance was there of capturing the Snitch then?

A timeout was called and Ella watched everyone land and try to regroup. Someone from the stands ran onto the field and ended up casting a spell. Ella had no idea who it was or what the spell was for, but if it helped the Gryffindors then she wasn't going to argue. Soon enough, they were off once more and Ella was trying harder than ever to see what was happening on the field. Lightning was now etched across the sky periodically lighting up what was happening in the air. Ella's heart clenched with worry. She hoped none of her friends got struck.

Out of nowhere two things happened almost one after the other. The first was that Cedric spotted something and was racing towards it; Harry followed moments after. The next was an eerie silence that deadened the crowd around her. The students in the stands became rigid with fear. Lee's commentary died on his lips and the unmistakable chill of dementors filled the air. Harry plummeted towards the ground.

Hundreds of cloaked creatures soared around the grounds of the school sucking away the excitement and replacing it with terror at everything that was happening. Ella could hear the screams in the back of her mind. The sounds were pounding themselves into her brain. She didn't even realize she had fallen out of her seat and onto the floor of the booth. She couldn't hear anything other than Lily's despairing pleads and Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom's hysterical screams. She felt like she'd go insane after a moment more.

Fred didn't know where to go. He wished he remembered the spell Ella used on the train. One of the dementors decided that he and George were better targets than Harry. He glanced towards Ella wondering if she could cast that spell and make them leave. His heart leapt into his throat as he watched Ella fall out of her seat next to Lee. Dumbledore raced onto the field and slowed Harry's fall to the ground. Once Harry had landed on the grass he shot Ella's spell towards the dementors which scattered. The headmaster looked murderous.

He conjured a stretcher and placed Harry on it before walking him to the school. As soon as the dementors were gone, Ella came back to the present. Lee and Professor McGonagall were kneeling over her in the stands. Ella would've felt embarrassed about making a scene, but she was shivering too hard to manage anything. Both of them helped Ella get out of the rain and into the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey was working on Harry at the moment, but there wasn't much to do with him. She broke off a large chunk of chocolate and put it in Ella's hands. She nibbled on the treat letting the warmth rush back through her. Until she had gained enough strength, she remained seated on the edge of a bed in the hospital wing.

"Are you okay, Ella?" Professor Dumbledore asked her gently. She shook her head and tried to regain a normal breathing pattern. "Is there something in the future that caused this effect from the dementors?"

"N-no, Professor. It-it's the past, sir, I can hear things that happened. Like the night when Voldemort went to the Potter's home or what happened to a certain Gryffindor's Auror parents from Bellatrix Lestrange," Ella explained shakily. His eyes darkened at the mention of both events, but particularly the Longbottoms'. McGonagall paled at the realization of what she heard when dementors came close. Her eyes flicked towards Harry as she figured out that he must hear the same thing.

"Madam Pomfrey," he called. The nurse looked up from her work, "When Ella goes to leave please give her a few sleeping draughts. She's in need of a peaceful night's rest." He placed a reassuring hand on Ella's shoulder and with a small squeeze he dismissed himself with the promise of telling off a group of horrible monsters that have no right to come on the grounds.

A few moments after, the Gryffindor team along with Hermione and Ron made it into the hospital wing. Wood wasn't among them, but Ella figured he'd need a moment or two in order to let the loss sink in. Lee had whispered in her ear that Diggory had caught the Snitch as they took her to the hospital wing. Fred and George made sure to give Ella two gigantic bear hugs before moving aside so the girls could fret over their friend. Ella was soon spattered with some of the mud they'd tracked in with them. She felt much better now that all of her friends were with her again. The large group moved over to where Harry was currently passed out. Hermione was shaking quite a bit and Ella gave her a quick hug.

Fred looked at Harry wearily, "Lucky the ground was so soft."

"I thought he was dead for sure," George shivered.

"But he didn't even break his glasses," Ella remarked.

Angelina shook her head, "That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life."

Harry's eyes snapped open and he glanced at the people around him. They must have been a rather odd sight. They all looked like they'd been swimming, or mud diving in the team's case. He looked extremely pale, but they all did due to the traumatic event.

Fred noticed he was awake after Ella did, "Harry! How're you feeling?"

"What happened?" Harry said shooting upwards like a bolt of lightning. Everyone gasped, not expecting the sudden movement.

"You fell off," Fred explained for the group. "Must've been –what –fifty feet?"

Alicia was shaking, "We thought you'd died." Hermione squeaked slightly at that and Ella put an arm back around her for comfort.

Harry's mind was on other thing though, "But the match… What happened? Are we doing a replay?" Everyone was silent. No one wanted to break it to Harry that he'd finally lost a match. "We didn't –_lose_?"

George finally broke it to him, "Diggory caught the Snitch just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square…even Wood admits it."

"Where is Wood?" Harry asked looking at all of them and noticing their Captain wasn't there.

Fred frowned, "Still in the showers. We think he's trying to drown himself." Harry curled up with his knees going to his chest and his hands gripping his hair. Fred grabbed his shoulder and gave him a rough shake. "C'mon, Harry, you've never missed the Snitch before."

"There had to be one time you didn't get it," George said comfortingly.

"It's not over yet. We lost by a hundred points, right? So if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin…" Fred calculated.

George countered, "Hufflepuff'll have to lose by at least two hundred points."

"But if they beat Ravenclaw…" Fred said suddenly unsure.

His twin shook his head, "No way, Ravenclaw is too good. But if Slytherin loses against Hufflepuff…"

"It all depends on the points –a margin of a hundred either way…"

The boys discussed their theories a little longer before Madam Pomfrey shooed them all out. Fred vowed they'd come visit Harry again, and Ella was given enough sleeping draughts to last her until break had ended if she used them sparingly. Madam Pomfrey must have heard what she told Dumbledore because she gave her an extra pitying look before she left. The group left downcast, but there was still hope of the Quidditch Cup coming home with the Gryffindors. Ella smiled a bit to herself –there was still hope and hope was exactly what she needed after this week.

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**A/N: Alright! There you are, as I said this is my favorite chapter I've wrote yet for this story so I hope you enjoyed! Please keep reviewing! The response is fantastic!**


	10. Chapter 10: The Marauder's Map

**I don't own the Harry Potter series or any of the character (aside from Ella :) )**

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The Marauder's Map

The Quidditch match sent the school abuzz once more and Ella was seriously considering hexing the next person to bring up anything related to Sirius Black and/or dementors. She snapped at a couple of first years in the library who were whispering loudly about reasons why Harry may have fallen off of his broom. Later, she felt bad for frightening the eleven year olds, but at the time, she was too frustrated to care.

In the Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff match, Hufflepuff was completely flattened. Ella hadn't seen such a defeat since her first year. This meant that Wood began training with the same intensity he had before the first match. The poor team was out late into the cold evening as December fully took over. Ella looked at this month with sad acceptance. She loved the school during the winter, and Ella was only reminded of Mrs. Weasley's offer to stay at the Burrow over the holidays. She didn't want to go home to be with her parents, but what choice did she have?

One night, before the end of term, Ella made her way out to see Sirius in the Shrieking Shack. He'd finally decided to make that be his home for the time being and explained to Ella and Crookshanks that it was never haunted. Lupin used the Shrieking Shack for his werewolf transformations back when he was at Hogwarts as a kid. She had another bag of food –enough to last him through Christmas and break.

"_Hello, Padfoot," _Ella called bringing in the bag of food. Crookshanks trotted in behind her. She'd blown past him in the tunnel on the way to the shack. He'd been the one to press the knot under the tree though. Crookshanks was able to do it on the first try every time, but Ella normally got smacked by the branches once or twice before finally getting it right. It was rather difficult explaining the cuts from the tree to her friends the next morning.

Sirius smiled at her from a chair he was sitting in, "You know I can't understand you if I'm human and you're a fox." Ella transformed and shrugged.

"I know, but I think it's funny. I could've called you a nitwit and you smiled at it. Here, I've got you some more food." She tossed the sack into his lap and sat on the edge of a bed.

"Is this my Christmas present?" He asked her.

Ella shrugged, "I suppose so. I'm not entirely sure what one would get an escaped convict for Christmas aside from food."

Sirius searched through the bag and gave her a confused look, "There's an awful lot of food in here. Are you not visiting me over the holidays?"

She frowned, "I can't. My parents want me home for the first Christmas in three years –they've got a special dinner I need to attend." Padfoot looked upset but didn't try to argue it. There was no point.

For a good part on the next hour Sirius and Ella sat and chatted. They often did this whenever Ella decided she needed to get out of school for the night. She was trying to make her sleeping draughts last as long as possible. She hadn't dreamt since before the Quidditch match. She'd wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and happy instead of frightened and twitchy. If she decided not to use a potion, she'd go out for the night and stay with Sirius and Crookshanks.

On nights like these, the two would talk about a wide range of topics. Ella explained as much as she knew about Harry's first year and second year at the school. He loved hearing the wild tales of his godson's adventures. Then Sirius would exchange tales of what he and his friends did during their time at Hogwarts. The Marauders were the Weasley twins of their era. Ella loved the pranks they did back in the day and Sirius always seemed years younger while telling them.

"I'd better go," Ella told Sirius knowing that if she stayed out any later it'd be likely that she'd get caught. Sirius had confided in her that he had got Harry a Firebolt for Christmas, and she couldn't help but marvel at the broom.

Sirius nodded, "All right then, Happy Christmas, Ella."

"Happy Christmas, Sirius."

Christmas was truly in the air at Hogwarts. Not a single student was completely downcast in the light of the holidays. Ella's last class before the term would end was Charms. She knew that there would be no focus in that class. There was hardly focus in any of her classes.

Everyone in the Charms class was discussing their plans for the holiday while admiring the lights Professor Flitwick used to decorate. They were actual fairies and looked very festive with the frosted grounds in the windows. Flitwick recognized a lost cause and let it happen. Katie knew Ella was reluctant to go home so the two of them worked on one of the charms Flitwick had introduced. After this, Ella would be going to the Owlery to send Mrs. Weasley another letter. They'd been sending and receiving letters from each other at least twice a month.

Her newest letter read:

_Dear Mrs. Weasley,_

_Thank you for the encouraging words about spending Christmas with my parents. I hope you're right that they'll behave better in the company of other people. I'm doing well, no more dementor incidents on the grounds. Dumbledore was so livid, I think he managed to frighten fear itself! The twins are all right, constantly covered in mud, but otherwise well. _

_I hope you have a very Happy Christmas and I'm sorry I won't be able to make it to the Burrow. Believe me when I say it would've been my first choice of where to go for the season. _

_Lots of love,_

_Ella_

"You'll just stay at the Weasley's over break. I don't think my parents would be happy to see you come home with me. Plus, this way you don't have to stay in your cage for the entire trip back. You'll be able to fly and stretch your wings. Then you can cozy up with Errol and Hermes," Ella told the bird. Rowena hooted sadly and nuzzled Ella's neck. "Thanks, Rowena, your support means a lot." She hooted once more before taking flight.

When she returned to the Common Room after sending Rowena off she saw the twins in a corner looking at something. Ella assumed it was some sort of shopping list for Hogsmeade the next day, but that didn't seem quite right. She moved closer and noticed it was a piece of parchment. They were watching over it and muttering to themselves.

"What are you two up to now and what have you got?" Ella said making the both of them jump.

The two shared a look and George said, "I think we should tell her, Fred."

"She has proved herself to be rather trustworthy."

"It's the Marauder's Map," George told her with a mischievous grin. "It tells us every known secret passage in the school _and _where everyone is at any given moment." They looked at her waiting for her to praise the parchment.

Ella smiled and watched little labeled dots moved around, "That's amazing, but if you've got a map that tells you where everyone is why did you two jump like little girls when I came up behind you?" She moved to sit across from them. Her thoughts drifted to her Petrified state where she was told about her friends' map. This must have been what they meant.

"Well, we weren't really focused on your dot. We were looking for someone else's," George told her.

"Sirius Black's to be specific. We wanted to see if we could find him on here," Fred confided in her. She attempted to seem interested instead of nervous.

Forcing her grin to stay put she asked, "Any luck with finding the escaped prisoner?"

Fred shook his head, "Nothing. He's probably hiding in Hogsmeade. The map doesn't go out there, but we don't use this thing for much else anymore."

George nodded, "We've already got it memorized and it's no fun if we can see someone coming during a prank. Takes all the surprises out of it."

"Have you ever thought of passing the map down to someone who really needs it?" Ella prompted getting an idea.

The two shared a look, "Who do you have in mind?"

All three friends stayed behind a little longer before going to Hogsmeade that Saturday morning. They agreed with Ella that Harry Potter was the perfect candidate for the next Marauder's Map owner. Fred and George were currently hiding behind the statue of the humped-backed, one-eyed witch. They were waiting for Harry to pass by. Ella was in the empty classroom near it. She was supposed to talk loudly if any professor came up before they had a chance to get in.

Before Ella knew it, Fred and George were leading Harry into the classroom with wide grins. George shut the door quietly behind them so no one would overhear what was going on. The twins turned towards Harry while Ella moved over to sit on the top of a desk.

"Early Christmas present for you Harry," George told him. Harry looked confused and slightly frightened –which was smart considering whose company he was in. Fred pulled the old parchment out of his pocket. At the moment, it was completely blank and Harry looked at it incredulously.

"What's that supposed to be?"

George patted the Map fondly, "This, Harry, is the secret to our success."

"It's a wretch, giving it to you," Fred stated melodramatically. He and George just said that the two rarely used it, but Fred had a knack for being dramatic. "But we decided last night, your need is greater than ours."

"Anyway, we know it by heart. We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore," George told him truthfully.

Harry looked between the two of them, "And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?"

"A bit of old parchment!" Fred exclaimed acting wounded and completely offended. "Explain George."

His twin grinned at the task, "Well…when we were in our first year, Harry –young, carefree, and innocent –" Harry snorted and Ella let out a laugh. "–well, more innocent than we are now –we got into a spot of bother with Filch."

Fred inserted, "We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and it upset him for some reason –"

"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual –"

"–detention –"

"–disembowelment –"

"–and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked _Confiscated and Highly Dangerous_."

Harry started to grin himself, "Don't tell me…"

Fred, clearly enjoying Harry's interest continued, "Well, what would you've done? George caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, I whipped the drawer open, and grabbed –_this_."

"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know," said George. "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."

The third year gave a skeptical look, "And you know how to work it?"

With a smirk Fred replied, "Oh yes, this little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."

"You're winding me up," Harry accused.

"Oh, are we?" George asked him. He pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment, "_I solemnly swear I am up to no good._"

Ella watched Harry's eyes widen in amazement as the Map created itself before his very eyes. It was an impressive bit of magic, not to mention helpful in the right situation.

Fred traced a pathway, "Right into Hogsmeade. There are seven in all. Now, Filch knows about these four, but we're sure we're the only ones who know about _these_. Don't bother with the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor. We used it until last winter, but it's caved in –completely blocked. And we don't reckon anyone's ever used this one, because the Whomping Willow's planted right over the entrance. But this one here, this one leads right into the cellar of Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one-eyed old crone's hump."

"Mooney, Wormtail –" Ella's eyes narrowed automatically, "–Padfoot, and Prongs," sighed George with admiration. "We owe them so much."

"_Well, you owe Lupin, Sirius, and Harry's dad, but Pettigrew has got enough from your family," _Ella thought bitterly to herself.

"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of law-breakers," Fred told him very seriously.

George gave a quick nod, "Right. Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it –"

"–or anyone can read it."

"Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed!' And it'll go blank."

Fred drew himself up and in an uncanny impersonation of Percy said, "So, young Harry, mind you behave yourself."

"See you in Honeydukes!" George said with a wink. Ella followed the two of them out of the room.

Fred, George, and Ella made their way to Hogsmeade together. There wasn't much ability to talk as the three got used to the blustering wind. Ella still felt cold under her winter coat and gloves. Her hair had been whipped into a wild mess after a few minutes of being out in the freezing weather. She checked her reflection in the window of a store and shrugged at the image. She kind of had that wind-blown model look, only in her opinion it her hair was still much too messy to pass off as a fashionista.

"There you three are! We were beginning to think Ella blew away and you two were trying to find her!" Lee shouted to them when they reached Zonko's.

Ella glared at the boy, "You're lucky I'm taking that as a compliment. I'd hate to ruin the Christmas spirit by turning you into a tree."

"Actually, that might help," Angelina said thoughtfully. "We could decorate him and put our presents under him. Plus, trees can't talk –it's a winning situation in every way." Lee pouted at his laughing friends before joining in himself.

For the next hour or two, Ella followed her friend around as they did their shopping. Since she'd gotten their presents over the summer, she didn't have much to do in Hogsmeade now. Everyone agreed after their shopping had been completed that they'd grab a quick butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks.

"So you were exploring a passage way last winter? How come I didn't know that?" Ella asked the twins. The two shared a look.

"You…well, you weren't quite with us anymore. We would've taken you –"

"But we couldn't really pull your Petrified self out of the hospital wing," George finished for his brother.

She bit her lip, "Sorry, I should've realized…"

Fred shook his head, "No, it's fine."

"We understand." George said shaking the conversation off. None of them wanted to think about that.

Ella and Katie saved a seat while their friends went to get the butterbeers. The place was filled to the brim with students and teachers all enjoying their trip away from school. Ella's eyes rested on a group of people who seemed to be having an intense conversation. It was Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Hagrid, the barkeeper, and a man Ella recognized to be the Minister of Magic himself. Ella was confused about what they were all talking about. She strained her ears to hear the middle part of their conversation.

"Alas, if only we had," the Minister was saying. "It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew –another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."

Madam Rosmerta responded, "Pettigrew…that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?"

Professor McGonagall's voice was choked as she explained, "Hero-worshiped Black and Potter. Never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You can imagine how I –how I regret that now…"

"There, now, Minerva," the Minister told her kindly. "Pettigrew died a hero's death –"

Ella's eyes widened in anger. How could people think that that _rat _died a hero's death? It was an insult to the true heroes that gave their lives instead of being a filthy coward. If they knew the real story, they'd be sickened by the idea of Pettigrew being a hero. Ella felt physically sick at the idea that McGonagall was crying over the man who gave away the Potters.

"What's up with you?" George asked sliding her the butterbeer. Ella shook her head slightly and tried to remove the tension from her body.

She gave a small smile, "Sorry, I was just thinking and it wasn't as pleasant as it could've been."

"Sounds like Lee on a regular basis then," Fred joked.

"Oi! What is this –insult Lee Jordan Day?" Lee piped up across from them.

The twins laughed, "No, that's every day." Lee simply rolled his eyes and the group starting discussing their usual topics of conversation like Quidditch, holiday plans, and joke ideas.

When they decided to go back to the school, it was still windy and cold outside. The group walked slowly as the butterbeer's warmth disappeared from their stomachs. Ella was blowing warm air into her cupped hands to try and warm her fingers, but nothing seemed to pull the chill out of her mind. A gust blew around her taking a bunch of snow off rooftops and spinning it around before dying down again.

Ella stopped to stare at the blowing snow. She remembered when she was little she'd stand outside for hours in the winter, until her lips were stained blue and she couldn't feel her toes, just to watch the snow. She'd play pretend with the seemingly alive specks of white. One moment it'd be her dance partner, the next she'd be performing a magic spell on it. Now she couldn't help but wonder if her magic ever had affected the snow. It was certainly magical that she never got pneumonia from spending so much time in the cold.

As he walked back towards the castle, Fred turned to see Ella standing several feet back staring at the snow as it floated around her. There was the same child-like spark in her eyes that he saw a year ago when she entered Honeydukes for the first time. Her eyes were focused on the sky above her. He slowly made his way towards Ella.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ella saw someone come over to her. She didn't know who they were, but they didn't speak so she assumed it must have been one of the girls. They'd be the ones to stay silent and let her have a moment, the boys would tease her.

"When I was really little, I'd sit outside in the snow and watch the wind blow it around for hours on end. My parents never really pulled me inside, they normally were at work anyway. I'd bundle myself up as much as possible, and I'd just sit in a snow bank. I thought the snow was magical –I know better now. It's just snow, there's different magic in the world. But I still can see something magical in it. The way it swirls around and glitters, it just makes people happy and childish…" Ella told whoever it was. She didn't want to take her eyes off the flakes.

"It's beautiful."

Her head snapped towards Fred and heat rose to her cheeks. She would've never said that had she known it was him –she assumed it'd probably be Angelina or Katie. His gaze was where hers had been moments before. It looked like he was attempting to see the snow like she did, and he seemed to understand it. Ella's blush grew deeper as she realized that it was only her and Fred there.

"_He looks so handsome," _Ella's mind thought. She could help it. He stood with his face up to the sky looking at the little snowflakes that were just beginning to fall. The wind blew his red hair around and flecks of snow were dusting it with white flecks. Just as she was beginning to think about his eyes, he turned to look at her. Their eyes locked for a moment and Ella stomach was filled with butterflies while her breath caught in her throat. There was no one else in the world…

But there was.

Ella took a step back, "We should probably go catch up with the rest of the group."

Something flicked behind Fred's eyes and he mumbled, "Oh, right. C'mon." Did he sound disappointed? Ella couldn't tell. The two raced to catch up with the group before getting to the castle. The whole trip back Ella couldn't rid herself of the fluttering feeling in her heart.

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**A/N: I figured a nice fluffy chapter after the last one would be perfect. What did you think? Review and tell me if you liked it! :)**


	11. Chapter 11: The Firebolt

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and I do not.**

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The Firebolt

When the friends arrived back in the Common Room, Fred and George decided to let off six Dungbombs at once in a celebration of Christmas. The smell from the bombs was overpowering the entire Common Room. Ella's watered and there was no way to get the smell out of her nose.

"Why did you do that?" She choked out to them.

George was coughing hard, "I dunno, it seemed like a good idea at the time!" Fred nodded with his brother. The moment they had nearly an hour ago was long gone. It was almost as if it never happened –almost. Ella found her eyes wandering to look at Fred more often than they had before, but it didn't mean anything. They were still two friends that just…well; Ella wasn't even sure _what _had nearly happened. For a moment, Ella thought Fred was going to kiss her, but he didn't. She knew he wouldn't have. Her feelings towards him just got her worked up. She probably imagined half of it.

The older students spent the better part of an hour figuring out a spell to remove the Dungbombs from the Common Room. Many people retreated to their dormitories instead of braving it. Percy yelled until his voice was hoarse at the twins for doing something so stupid. Neither brother seemed to really care what Percy thought though.

As the twins crawled into their beds in their dormitory that night George turned to Fred asking, "So what happened with you and Ella today?"

Fred shrugged blushing, "I'm not sure, but I just felt like kissing her."

"You didn't!"

"You're right, I didn't," Fred responded and George deflated.

George grumbled, "Why not? You weren't scared were you?"

"No! She just, well, she stopped it from happening. I took too long to lean in and make it happen. She pretty much came to her senses and suggested we got back to the group. After that the mood seemed sort of…ruined," Fred described to his twin.

He sighed, "Well, what are you going to do now?"

Fred thought for a moment, "I don't really know. I kind of want to ask her to be my girlfriend."

"When?"

"After break?"

"Why?"

"Because it seems cruel to do it tomorrow then force her to go over a month without seeing me!"

"Oh," George said, "that actually makes a lot of sense."

Fred huffed, "Of course if does, I thought of it!"

"You're pretty daft sometimes, mate."

"Hey!"

"Would you two shut up?" Lee called out and the twins burst out laughing before turning in for the night.

In the morning, Ella got up and went down to breakfast. She took her time eating the mouthwatering food and savoring the castle at Christmas time. There'd be no fantastic Christmas dinner this year. She wouldn't be getting her presents until after break either, so no gift giving on the actual Christmas Day. Ella figured it'd be a miracle if her parents even acknowledged her presence at all. They'd have to at their Christmas Eve dinner, but once they were home it'd be only Ella for the rest of break.

With a sigh, she dragged herself back to Gryffindor tower and brought her trunk down. If her parents were capable of happiness, they'd be over-joyed that she was leaving Rowena's cage at school instead of taking it with her. She stood in the Common Room with Katie and they waited for their other friends to come down to join them. They'd all pick up a quick bite to eat before hopping on the train.

Ella couldn't help but feel heavy hearted as they pulled their things to the station. All of her friends picked up on her downcast spirit right away. Fred and George dedicated the entire trip home to a complete and total comedy show. They went all out to try and keep everyone laughing the whole time. When the Hogwarts Express finally pulled up to Kings Cross station, both the twins were exhausted and she was extremely grateful for having such wonderful friends. Ella followed them off and onto the platform where Mrs. Weasley was smiling and waving her children over.

"Oh, I've missed you all so much!" Mrs. Weasley gushed giving each of them a hug and kiss on the cheek. Ella smiled at her mother figure. "Thank you for the letters, Ella. It was wonderful to hear from you."

She blushed slightly, "It was no problem, really. I love writing letters to you and getting a response back."

"C'mon you lot, time to get back to the Muggle World," Mrs. Weasley told her children leading them through the barrier. She kept a hand on Ella's back until they reached outside of the station. There was a light snow falling and both Ella's parents were standing beside a car. Their lab coats were just visible under their coats.

The Weasleys tensed slightly as they always did when seeing Ella's estranged parents. Ella saw Mrs. Weasley's smile falter out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't blame her. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Worthington was smiling. They stood with disinterested expressions, and Ella was able to trace faint lines of disgust in their faces directed towards the Weasleys.

Mr. Worthington drawled, "Come along, Ella, we've got to be back to the lab in an hour."

"See you," Ella whispered to the twins. Then she went into the back of the car. She watched them through the window until they disappeared. Part of her felt like crying, but she beat it back. Ella was stronger than that, and she would remain stronger than that during her stay with her parents.

For the first four or five days, Ella was stuck at home by herself. She watched some television but found it awfully boring compared to Hogwarts. She made her own food and worked on her homework in her room. Ella didn't dare venture past her door when she had her homework out. She was too frightened that it may get destroyed if her parents were to come home early like they did over the summer.

The one thing that Ella found was perfect about spending time at her house now was that she _could_ transform into her fox form with the Trace picking it up. Sirius said he used to walk to a dog park in Muggle London when he was younger and transform to be a dog. Part of him had wanted to be caught doing this so he could stir up more trouble for his family, but because it's wandless magic and extremely complex it's unidentifiable.

Ella would trot around the house in her fox form and roll around in the snow that had piled up in her backyard. She didn't even have to worry about neighbors calling animal control because of the tall fence they had blocking her from view.

On Christmas Eve, Ella's parents were home the entire day to get ready for the party at seven that night. Ella was told that she needed to look professional like her parents would be. She looked through the Muggle clothes in her closet and found an outfit her parents bought her years ago for secondary school. They wanted her to look nice and professional at her first ever science fair, but Ella figured that this was the only time she'd ever wear it. Hogwarts didn't have science fairs.

At six-thirty, Ella looked at her appearance in her room's floor length mirror. She was in a black pencil skirt that stopped at her knees and a lacy white sweater with a teal camisole underneath. Ella couldn't help but feel distinguished as she added a pair of small heels. Had she been a Muggle and grown into a Muggle job, she would've had no trouble fitting into the professional world.

The ride there was chilly; Ella had decided to use her lighter, dressier coat. More than that, her parents were extremely distant and cold towards her. Their coworker's house had to have been no more than seven miles out from their house, but Ella thought the car ride lasted much too long.

Before leaving, Ella had been briefed about the setting she would be walking into. There'd be three different families there. The person they were meeting was a benefactor of a high-end research facility, and he was considering donations to their research and another family's business. They hadn't been informed much about their other guests, but Ella was to be polite nonetheless. Ella certainly looked the part of genius, courteous daughter, but no matter how she looked, she couldn't help but resent everything about this outing. She hated the idea of the social hour, then the meal, and ending the night with more socializing. Ella would rather take care of Hagrid's flobberworms than spend several hours smiling and nodding at snobs who she wouldn't relate to in the slightest.

"Ah, Timothy, Emily, there you are. It's so good to see the both of you."

A severe man said opening the door to her family. Her father and the man shook hands before he turned to her mother and gave her a peck on the cheek. He was a tall man with a balding head of grey hair and serious expression. Ella could see why her parents would want to impress him; he looked as boring and solemn as they always were. The man's wife was equally uptight and pompous as her husband. Ella wondered if Percy could even stomach these people, but he did enjoy business people so he'd be better off than Ella.

"Hello, Maxwell, this is our daughter Ella," her father stated gesturing towards her.

Maxwell extended a hand, "Pleased to meet you my dear. You seem like a lovely young woman, almost as lovely as your mother."

Ella took the hand and stated politely, "Thank you, sir, but the pleasure is all mine with meeting such a distinguished man."

The man smiled proudly, "Well, come now and meet my other guests for this evening. I'm sure you'll all get along swimmingly." He led them into a large sitting room and introduced, "Timothy and Emily, I'd like you to meet Vernon and Petunia Dursley along with their son Dudley."

Ella's father shook hands with a beefy man that Ella had seen in countless visions. These people were Harry's guardians –the ones that hated him for being magic. The Dursleys were the equivalent of Ella's parents when it came to Muggles.

"Pleased to meet you, Vernon and Petunia. My name is Timothy Worthington. This is my wife Emily, and my daughter Ella," Mr. Worthington told the man.

Vernon smiled to him, "Yes, yes, very nice to make your acquaintance. If I could be so bold, you seem like my kind of man, no nonsense whatsoever. A man of science and sense."

Her parents smiled pleased and began talking to each other about their jobs and daily lives. Ella turned to Dudley. He was bigger than she'd imagined and they were the only two that were their age. She didn't like the idea that they'd most likely be stuck together all night. How Harry dealt with him during the year was beyond her. A terrible thought struck Ella's mind, but by Fred and George's standards it'd be absolutely brilliant. After all, she did know for a fact that this boy hated magic and was dreadful to Harry.

"Hello," she said sweetly to him.

Dudley glanced in her direction, but ignored her. He instead moved over to a couch and sat his ginormous bottom on it. Ella moved to be across from him in a chair. She forced the smile to remain on her face.

"So, are you an only child then?" Ella questioned as though she only wanted to make conversation.

"Yes," Dudley replied bored.

Ella cocked her head slightly to the side, "No one else your age lives with you?"

"No."

"Are you certain?"

The boy looked over at her suspiciously, "What do you know about that? We just met a few moments ago." Ella didn't have time to respond because they decided to go through with dinner sooner than planned.

Ella sat beside Dudley during dinner with the hosts across from her. The Dursleys and her parents sat down the table across from each other. Apparently, they'd hit it off extremely well since neither of them tolerate abnormality. Dudley had never had time to talk to his parents about Ella's statement earlier. Ella kept smiling sweetly at him as he grew more and more uneasy.

A butler served the four course meal to them, but Ella felt like it'd never live up to the expectation of a Hogwarts Christmas meal. Granted, maybe since it was Christmas Eve, the cook decided not to go all out. Ella assumed House Elves probably had better cooking skills than most Muggles anyway. Ella became more than a little dispirited at the idea that the Weasleys would all be having Mrs. Weasley's wonderful dinners while she was stuck here with the Dursleys.

"So Timothy, where did you say Ella went to school again?" Maxwell asked with a kind smile towards her.

Her father told him their well-rehearsed story, "She goes to a school in Ireland. It a special school for academically gifted students."

Vernon Dursley nodded his approval, "So are you going to go in your parents' footsteps then, Ella? Become a scientist and innovate the future for us all."

Ella smiled, "Actually, as much as I adore science, I was thinking of possibly going into government or law enforcement." It wasn't a lie, Ella had been thinking about getting a job in one of the Ministry's departments or maybe even being an Auror.

"Well now, what's a fine boy like Dudley looking into?" Mrs. Worthington asked eager to get the subject off of Ella. She obviously didn't want Ella to make a slip of any kind. Ella noticed that all the adults were consuming an alarming amount of wine and spirits. She'd never seen her parents drink so much before, but if everyone else was doing it, why wouldn't her parents?

Petunia gave a very horsey smile before proclaiming, "Dudley doesn't know what he'd like to go into, but he'll surely do a fine job with whatever it is."

Before Ella could stop herself she blurted, "And does Harry know what he's going into?" The Dursley family looked at her in shock.

Vernon spluttered, "How did you know about our nephew?"

"I go to the same school as he does," Ella said. She couldn't help but grin slightly at the purple color Vernon's face was turning.

"That's not possible. He goes to St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys!" Petunia cried indignantly.

Turning to Maxwell, Vernon Dursely explained, "My nephew, Harry, he's a very troubled boy. We've been taking care of him as best we could, but types like his are, well, incurable. He's just an abnormal and troubled child. Both of his parents were killed in a car crash when he was one." Ella's hands clenched into fists as anger boiled in her stomach.

Ella's mother turned to her saying, "You must have thought it was someone else, dear."

"Yes, she must have. A nice, normal little girl like Ella certainly wouldn't be involved in our nephew's crowd. Horrid, the lot of them." Vernon Dursley told their guests.

Maxwell's wife turned to him and said, "You mustn't blame yourselves. Wonderfully normal people like your family aren't to be blamed with how he turned out."

"Horrid?" Ella questioned her voice low and dangerous. "And what makes these people so horrid? I think that people like Harry are wonderful. We're a lot better than people like you. We're accepting of those who are different."

"Ella, be quiet," her mother snapped.

"I'm so sorry about our daughter's behavior. She's been a bit rebellious ever since she went to that school. I think her aunt may be having a bad influence on her. She was always a wild child," her father explained to the others. Ella wondered if any of these people realized both of her parents had no siblings.

Vernon shook his head good-naturedly, "I don't mind, we get the same thing from our nephew, no offense of course."

Maxwell nodded, "It's fine, honestly. Sometimes children just go a wrong way. They're influenced by the wrong people and things they see. You can't blame yourself for your nephew or daughter. You're all delightful people; a little misfortune comes to all of us."

"Thank you, sir," Timothy Worthington said politely.

Petunia Dursley turned to Ella's mother trilling, "You and Timothy must come over for dinner sometime. It'd certainly be a delightful endeavor, and we could have it sometime when Ella and our nephew are both in school."

"What a wonderful idea," Emily told her.

Vernon and Mr. Worthington were currently discussing their dislike for abnormality with Maxwell. The three men were peas in a pod with their love of uniformity. Ella glanced at Dudley who was ignoring everything aside from his food. The people in the room were acting as though Ella didn't even exist.

She stood so suddenly that the scraping chair echoed for several seconds, "What is wrong with you people?"

"Sit down Ella!" Her mother snapped with barely concealed anger.

"No, I'm sick of this. I'm sick of pretending to belong or that this is a happy normal family. I despise normal; I hate it with every fiber of my being. I've never been normal and I'm proud of that fact. Now I'm being forced to act like the perfect daughter to the perfect set of parents when we all know I'm just one big disappointment to you both. But I'm so glad, so very glad that I disappoint you because never in a hundred years would I want to be like you both.

"I would never give up my only child for a job or dislike her for being a little different. I could never be like them either." Ella wheeled on the Dursleys, "They hate abnormality and imagination too. There's magic all around us in this world; it's beautiful and wondrous –a spark that makes life more radiant than the sun, but you can't see that. It's beyond me how that's possible, but I suppose that you lot weren't meant for it. You'll talk about my lot being horrid, well I can't stand your lot, and it's about time that I stand up for myself instead of letting people like you trample all over me." Ella shouted at the guests in the anger that had been simmering inside her for four years now, maybe even her entire life.

Mr. Worthington looked at her sternly and reprimanded, "Sit down now, for god's sake. That's an extremely impolite outburst and we raised you better than that."

Her teeth clenched and in a biting tone she hissed, "Oh yes, I'm so _very _sorry about my little outburst. It's just a tad bit hot in here. I think I'll go get some air. Sorry again and have an evening as _lovely _as yourselves in my absence."

Before anyone could say anything more, Ella darted from the room and found her way outside. It was freezing and snow was slowly falling from the sky, but Ella didn't even pay attention to the beautiful sight. She paced back and forth taking deep, calming breaths of the frosted air to calm herself down. There was no way she could go back in there. Ella couldn't even imagine staying any longer with her parents during the holidays. They'd be positively livid about the outburst she'd had. She only saw one choice in her mind. Ella transformed into her Animagus form in front of the house and was glad that she was a bit warmer like that. Her skirt and thin sweater had done nothing to protect her from the elements, but fur was much warmer.

It took the better part of an hour for Ella to arrive at her house. She was afraid that her parents would leave to find her then beat her to the house or that she'd get lost, but neither happened. When she entered the place she'd lived for most of her life she paced once more trying to come up with a plan, but all she could hear was _horrid lot _echoing in her head again and again.

"Shut up!" Ella yelled to the voice inside her head. A shatter came from behind her. Ella turned around to see she'd broken a mirror and cracked every picture frame in the house –which wasn't many. Each picture had a different fissure in it, but they all were separating Ella from her parents. How fitting.

She finally gathered her thoughts and came up with a halfway decent plan. Rushing up the stairs she grabbed her trunk and pulled out her wand. The snow was coming down harder now when she came back outside. Ella's parents still hadn't returned from the party, and she was beginning to realize that her running away would probably be a blessing for them. Nonetheless, she still left a note sitting on their counter top.

_Dear Timothy and Emily,_

_I'm leaving for the sake of both of us since you don't want me here during the holidays and I don't want to be here. I hope your dinner went better after I left and all the best with your business venture. I'll be staying with people who actually care about my wellbeing and me in general for the rest of break. See you in the summer._

_Ella._

Without looking back at her house, Ella pulled out her wand arm and held it like she believed would summon the Knight Bus. She was still dressed in her Muggle attire and freezing cold, but by some stroke of luck the Knight Bus appeared in front of her.

A boy who wasn't much older than Percy stepped out of the bus reciting, "Welcome to the Knight Bus, an aid for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand arm and we'll take you where you need to go. My name is Stan Shunpike and I'll be your conductor for this evening." He looked around taking in his surroundings. "This is the second time we've been 'ere this year."

"I know, I saw you the first time you came. That's how I knew about this," Ella explained to him.

"If 'choo saw 'Arry, why didn' you help him?" Stan questioned her.

Ella found the boy annoying, "What help would an underage witch be to an underage wizard? He already flagged down the Knight Bus, what'd he need me for?"

Stan thought a moment, "Right, well, get on then." He heaved her trunk up, which wasn't nearly as heavy since a lot of her things stayed at Hogwarts during the break. "Where you 'eaded?"

"St. Ottery Church Catchpole, thanks. Just center of the town, I can make it on my own the rest of the way," Ella told him as he sat her at a bed.

"That'll be ten Sickles please," he said and she coughed up the money. The car shot off and Ella watched the towns and cities blur past the windows. A short while after, Stan Shunpike returned with a cup of hot chocolate.

"I didn't order this, I can't afford it," Ella stated sadly. She wished she could have the warm drink. She was frozen to the bone from spending so much time outside.

The boy shook his head and argued, "It's on the 'ouse. We don' need someone dying of cold on our bus –bad business."

She took the drink and mumbled, "Thank you." Shortly after, the Knight Bus let Ella off in the center of St. Ottery Church Catchpole and disappeared with a bang. Ella took her trunk and began walking down a street that would take her to the Burrow. It'd be at least twenty minutes before she arrived, but she needed time to figure out what she was going to tell Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. The events of the night were finally catching up to her. How could she just leave like that? What if the Weasleys were angry that she came to the Burrow? She had said she couldn't after all, it would be rude to come in unexpected now.

A church bell chimed in the distance and Ella knew it had to be extremely late. They were probably asleep, and she would spend all night sitting on their doorstep only to freeze to death. Ella shook her head. It was too late to turn back now, Ella didn't have the money to even consider the idea let alone actually return home. Besides, she couldn't go back. The outburst was still fresh in their minds, they'd be livid. She'd probably be shipped to China before anyone would hear differently. Ella would never be allowed back to Hogwarts –she'd disappear and all of her friends would never know why.

"_I'm not thinking rationally, my brain must have lost all function without the warmth," _Ella thought to herself with a shiver. It wasn't long after that the outline of the Burrow could be spotted against the dark sky. Ella felt ready to cry –with relief and exhaustion. She made it to the house and saw a light was still on through a downstairs window.

Her hand rose to the door and after taking a deep breath, she knocked. For a moment, there was only silence. Then, the sound of feet came from behind the door. Ella tried to not feel nervous about showing up like this.

"Ella!" Mrs. Weasley cried out in shock at seeing her. "Come in, get inside the house!" The woman pulled her in along with her case and looked her over in her skirt and heels that had caused blisters along the bottom of her feet. "What are you doing here? How did you get all the way here from your house? Oh, you're chilled to the bone, I'll make you some tea." She gave the girl a large hug to warm her up a bit before holding her at arm's length.

"Molly, who's there?" Mr. Weasley asked appearing from a different room.

Mrs. Weasley looked towards her husband and responded, "It's Ella, Arthur."

"Ella? How did you get here?" Mr. Weasley asked, but Ella couldn't reply. As soon as Mrs. Weasley hugged her, she burst into tears as everything that happened finally caught up to her. She was cold, angry, and hurt by everything that happened, but she was also happy because she was at the place she considered to be home.

Molly Weasley pulled Ella into another hug and held her until the crying became hiccoughs and then waited until those had died out as well. All the while, Mr. Weasley made some warm tea to help Ella calm down and to eventually warm her up. The couple moved Ella into the living room shortly after she stopped crying. The parents wrapped her in a blanket and started a fire to make the room nice and cozy. Ella's eyes glanced around the house only to realize that everyone else must have been asleep. Their presents were already sitting under a tree and waiting to be opened later that day. Ella could see that Fred and George added her gifts to them under the tree so they'd open them on Christmas still. This would've been their first Christmas apart since becoming friends if the dinner had gone as planned.

"What happened, Ella? How did you get all the way to Devon from Surrey?" Mrs. Weasley asked her kindly. She sat herself next to her and let Ella's exhausted head rest against her. Mr. Weasley sat on her other side and gently smoothed the tangles that had formed from the wind blowing her hair every which way. The motion was calming and full of care.

"I had dinner with my parents and the other people that had shown up, but they all kept talking about normality. They spoke as if I wasn't there. They talked about 'my lot' being horrid. Before I could stop myself, I snapped at them all." Ella explained how she ran back to her house in the cold, but left out that she'd been in her Animagus form for it. She told them about her bout of accidental magic and her idea to take the Knight Bus to the outskirts of St. Ottery Church Catchpole. Ella even confided in them her thoughts and fears as she walked to the Burrow.

Mrs. Weasley listened until Ella's tale had finished before she assured Ella, "You will always be welcome here whether is the break of dawn or midnight. We'd never turn you away for any reason at all. We'd be thrilled to have you for the rest of Christmas, even if your parents aren't."

"It's funny," Ella murmured with drooping eye lids, "I haven't really considered them my parents in a while. I've…I've been considering you both my parents. I'm sorry."

The adults shared a look and Mr. Weasley whispered to her, "Don't apologize, Ella. There's nothing wrong with that. We, well –we've always considered you one of our children."

Ella smiled sleepily, "Thank you, that's one of the kindest things anyone could ever tell me."

"Come on, you've had a rough night, we should get you up to Ginny's room," Mrs. Weasley said beginning to stand.

"No…I don't want to wake her up. Can I sleep here on the couch?" Ella yawned. Mrs. Weasley smiled at how young Ella seemed when she was tired.

"Of course."

She conjured a pillow and Ella snuggled herself into it. The mother figure had Ella change into pajamas before going to bd. Just before Ella completely fell asleep, she thought she saw Mrs. Weasley place a few more gifts under the tree. She couldn't be sure though, she was lost to the world in a matter of seconds.

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were the first awake and happy to see Ella sleeping soundly on the couch still. There were no signs of dreaming on her face. Percy was the first of the kids that woke up. To say he was surprised to see Ella, was an understatement.

"Mother? Why is Ella sleeping on the couch? I thought Fred and George said she had to go to a dinner with her parents?" Percy asked.

"Things didn't go as planned at the dinner. Ella came here around midnight last night, and we should let her sleep as long as possible in any case. It was a rough night for the poor dear," his mother told him with a glance in the other room.

For an hour after that, Percy and Mr. Weasley talked about the Ministry while Mrs. Weasley worked on her cooking. Ella made her way into the room feeling refreshed and happy. She was sad that the dinner hadn't been a bad dream, but she was glad to be at the Burrow for Christmas. She gave a shy smile to the people in the room who smiled back to her.

"How'd you sleep, Ella?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Ella responded, "Fantastic, best night of sleep since break started." Ella joined in a conversation about Sirius Black still alluding capture. She added in wherever she could to throw them off of his trail. It wasn't long before there was the sound of a stampede coming from above them. Ella could only imagine their surprise at seeing her.

Mrs. Weasley grinned, "Come here, Ella." Ella moved to be next to Mrs. Weasley who put a ribbon in her hair like the Christmas presents had.

"What's this?" She asked referring to the ribbon.

"I thought, maybe we could surprise the boys. How does that sound?" Mrs. Weasley said and Ella thought for a moment that the twins probably got their mischievous attitudes from their mother. Ella nodded and stood just behind the door while the rest of the Weasleys moved into their living room.

"Happy Christmas!" Mrs. Weasley cried out to her children. She caught Fred, George, and Ginny's voice returning the statement.

Continuing Mrs. Weasley announced, "We've got an extra gift for you in the kitchen."

"What is it?" The three stated excitedly. Ella grinned and slowly rounded the corner with the bow in her hair. She saw realization dawn in the twins' eyes.

"Ella!" They bellowed before rushing towards her. Both of them raced towards her and mimicked Percy like they had with Harry in the summer.

"Isn't that an old joke?"

"Old, but good –" George told her.

Fred finished, "A classic!" Percy huffed from across the room.

"We'll be right back –"

"We need to get your gift."

Mrs. Weasley called out when they'd just reached the stairs, "They're already down here. I took them here last night."

"Thanks!" They both said and then began to open their presents with Ella. She went for Mrs. Weasley's gift first because she knew there'd be a sweater in there. This Christmas sweater was purple and Ella thanked Mrs. Weasley for it as well as the fudge she also got in the package. After the presents were open, Ella told Fred and George about the night before and how she got to the Burrow.

The boys were furious to say the least, and they made a silent vow to keep Ella happy the rest of break. It was one of the best Christmases Ella ever had and it almost didn't happen. The dinner was much better than Maxwell's the night before, but Mrs. Weasley had always been a superb cook. Ginny and Ella went to bed shortly after midnight. The girls discussed every topic under the sun until they both dozed off.

In the twins' room, George was telling Fred, "What do you mean you're not going to ask her out anymore?"

"She's just had horrible event happen to her. Ella doesn't need a boyfriend right now, she needs her friends."

"Well…"

"George, this is my decision and as my twin, you should respect that," Fred told him.

His brother sighed, "Just because I respect it doesn't mean I think it's right or that you're not an idiot…" Fred chucked his pillow in George's face, which George repeated. Both brothers fell asleep wondering if the right time would ever present itself.

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**A/N: How was that? I want to know what you think is going to happen between Ella and her parents then Ella and Fred! I'm in college now so I'll only be posting once a week, normally Fridays. Please review, I'll be having troubles keeping up with writing on top of everything else as is and reviews are extremely motivational! :)  
**


	12. Chapter 12: The Patronus

**I don't own Harry Potter, his world, or his friends/enemies. That belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

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The Patronus

Ella returned to the school with a spring in her step and in much better spirits than what she left with. Her time with the Weasleys was perfect, in Ella's humble opinion. She and Ginny spent a majority of the time talking to each other, but if they were apart the twins would take over with cluing Ella into their business ideas. The only thing that saddened Ella was that her sleeping draughts were all used up. She wondered how awful her dreams would seem now that she'd spent a month without them.

"Hullo, Ron! How was break?" The twins asked their younger brother entering the Common Room. He and Harry were sitting together, but Ella noticed Hermione was nowhere in sight. Something was definitely off.

Ron huffed, "It was fine." Fred and George shared a look, but decided against asking anything more. Instead they turned to Harry.

"Find a broom yet?" George asked Harry, which only seemed to make both boys moodier.

"I had a Firebolt, but _Hermione _got it confiscated," Harry pouted.

Ella looked at him, "Well, did she have a good reason for getting it confiscated?"

"No," Ron said, "she only thought Sirius Black bought it for him. How would he have been able to send Harry an expensive broom while on the run? Why would he even? That doesn't seem his style."

She frowned, "It seemed like she was only worried about Harry's safety, and while you have some good points, you shouldn't be angry with Hermione for doing what was probably right. You're not ignoring her are you?" Both boys refused to meet her gaze. "You're as idiotic as these two." Ella then left the Common Room to go find Hermione and see if she was alright.

Hermione was sitting with a large stack of books in the library. She was reading through one and looked up when Ella came in. The bags under her eyes were much too deep for an ordinary third year. Ella took a seat across from her and noticed the books were all dealing with magic creature court cases. She was looking for something to help Buckbeak.

"Hi," Ella said softly.

The girl gave a small smile that seemed like more of a grimace, "Hello, I suppose you've heard that I'm public enemy number one for tell McGonagall about the broom?"

Ella nodded, "Oh yes… Boys are stupid, aren't they?"

Hermione let out a slight chuckle, "I suppose they are. You don't hate me too do you?"

"Of course not! You did the right thing telling a Professor about a broom being given to Harry by no one. It's definitely suspicious," Ella told her, even though she knew nothing was wrong with it. She'd have done the same thing if she hadn't already known better.

Tears welled up in the young girl's eyes, "Good, because I can't handle the two of them being so cold towards me. I've been working on all my homework and there's also Buckbeak's trial and I can't keep up with it all."

"Shh, it's okay. Let me help a little with the trial for now. I can be your temporary friend while they act like prats. Hagrid and I are still here for you," Ella assured her. Hermione nodded too choked up to say anything. Ella helped Hermione with her work load for a bit before convincing her to return to the Common Room.

Despite her urging, Hermione skipped staying with the others to go upstairs to bed. Ella felt bad for her, but figured the boys would see the error of their ways. This wasn't her battle to fight. No one seemed to want to stay up too late that night with the knowledge of the start of term looming over them.

As Ella crawled into her bed she slid her arms under the pillow and they came in contact with something. She grasped a small box and pulled it out. Who would've put that there? She unwrapped the little gift and opened it to see a letter.

_Dear Ella,_

_I wasn't entirely sure what to get a girl who you only know because she can see the future. The food you give me and the company helps keep me sane and for that I thank you. I had the cat get this for you in Hogsmeade. The cat was under orders to get the most useful thing he could find for you, since you gave me the necessities to live I wanted you to receive something you needed as well. I'll admit I wasn't impressed at first by what he brought back, but after figuring out how it worked, well, I'm confident it will be of use to you._

Ella picked up a smooth stone that was smaller than the palm of her hand. Her first thought was that a rock wouldn't be useful in her everyday life, but Sirius had thought the same. At the very least, it was a pretty stone with a deep purple color and black tendrils looping around it.

_This is called a Desiderium Stone. Simply brush your thumb over the surface of it and the words you need to see most will appear to you and only you. At first, I found it useless then I realized the things you may see with your dreams and the words no one can say to you if you have to hide everything. Encouragement can be as necessary as food or water when it comes to someone's wellbeing. _

_Happy Christmas,_

_Padfoot_

She brushed her thumb along the smooth surface and small ray of light beamed out of it in front of her. Little floating letters read: _Great is the victory, but the friendship of all is greater_. Ella gently placed the stone in the box and put it in her trunk. Then, she rested her head on her pillow and fell into a deep, dark dream.

"_Smella! Smella!" Allison's voice hadn't reached Ella's ears in over a year, but Ella saw the ten year old version of Allison and herself in their neighborhood. Ella sat in the mud in her torn dress that she'd worn that day. She had tears in her eyes while Allison and her friends merely cackled at her. Ella wanted to stick up for herself, but it was a dream. She was brave now, but she couldn't turn back the clock and give herself more of a backbone. _

_The scene changed, progressively becoming darker. She watched her father hurl a vase at Professor Snape. He grew older and was insisting a mistake was made at the hospital. It was every moment her parents had insulted or disowned her. But why was she seeing all this? She'd already lived it –she remembered it with absolute clarity._

"_GET OUT!" A voice shouted and Ella stumbled slightly. The vision grew dark, but she could feel a wind whipping around her. _

"_Kill the spare!" Someone rasped from deep in the darkness. Ella turned towards it but there was no way to see. _

_She cried out, "Kill who?" _

_Another voice shouted, "He's back!" _

"_Avada kedavra!" A jet of air shot past Ella just missing her. _

"_What's going on?" Ella screamed to the void._

_Voldemort's voice echoed in every direction, "Tell me…tell me now you stupid girl."_

"_I won't tell you anything," she said defiantly. A fierce wind was blowing around her wiping up her fear._

"_Don't you want to change what you see? Don't you want to be in control? I could give you that control…" Voldemort cooed. _

_Suddenly, Ella could see where she was and what was blowing past her. No face was recognizable, but the battlefield was. Hogwarts stood in shambles. There were flames and ruble from the castle walls littering the area she was in. Great blasts tore the precious walls apart, and Ella saw people falling all around her. Her breathing hitched and her heart clenched. _

_There were green jets of light flashing around everywhere –the killing curse. _

_Where were her friends? Where was she? The green kept shooting around and hitting people and walls. She saw a burst heading towards her and closed her eyes not wanting to move away anymore. She couldn't imagine seeing her school like this. Ella didn't want Hogwarts to be destroyed or so many people to die._

Ella didn't move immediately after opening her eyes. She laid on her back and kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling. In the back of her head she could see the green lights and the people dropping like flies. It was awful –the worst dream she'd ever had.

"I will put a stop to it, but I'll do it without your help," Ella vowed under her breath.

Over the next few days, Ella juggled getting reused to her classes, the renewed horror of her dreams, her usual group of friends, and now being friends with Hermione. She could tell that the younger girl missed Harry and Ron a lot, but she wasn't going to go back to them just yet. Ella was fine with it, though, the two Muggle-borns had a lot in common –certainly more than just blood.

On Thursday, Ella had class with Professor Lupin. The night before she had only one clear dream and it was Harry's Patronus lessons that night. While everyone else left talking happily about that lesson and now knowing the stunning spell, Ella remained behind to see the teacher. This wasn't the first time she had done this. Normally, she'd stay behind and just discuss little things like the weather or sometimes Lupin would tell her about his time at Hogwarts –his versions seemed more realistic than when Sirius told her.

"So, you're giving Harry a lesson tonight?" Ella asked him. Of course she already knew, but most people needed an introduction before she dived into something she wasn't supposed to know. It was an icebreaker, in a way.

Lupin looked up from his work, "Oh yes, he wanted to know how to fight off dementors. I'm still not entirely sure if I should subject him to this. He hears Lily when the dementors come close."

"It's not a fun thing to hear…" Ella said knowingly. "But it'll only get worse every time he encounters a dementor. He's too determined to have the lesson in any case. Harry's not going to take no for an answer."

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing? I don't know if James would want me to subject him to hearing that," Lupin said with a far off look in his eye. Ella knew it well. He always got that look in his eye when he thought about his friends. Times like these made Ella want to confess everything she knew about Sirius and Pettigrew, but she refrained herself. If she wasn't telling Dumbledore, she couldn't tell Lupin.

Ella looked at the professor and reminded herself that he was a lot younger than he looked, "James would be thrilled that you're teaching his son something that will surely come in handy in the future. As for my opinion, I definitely think you are. Hearing Lily's voice like that…it's not pleasant in the slightest."

Her professor looked at her startled, "Ella, can you hear Lily's voice as well?"

She looked towards the floor, unable to meet his eyes, "Sometimes I wish I couldn't dream because the past and future sometimes seem equally horrifying."

Lupin looked at her sadly, "There are times I forget that unfortunate circumstances circle everyone. At times I can be rather selfish and only think about my problem, I forget that others are fighting their own battles. It's what makes us all human. Your dreams make you stronger, Ella, but your dreams do not control you. Much like my illness."

After that, Ella met with Hermione in the library. There were books covering the table where she sat, and Ella figured that she'd mainly be helping with homework now. Hermione barely looked up, but knew Ella was sitting across from her. No one else would be so bold. Not when Hermione was such a time bomb with her rising stress level.

"What took you so long?" Hermione asked not unkindly.

Ella shrugged, "I was talking with Professor Lupin. He's looking much better than he was earlier this week."

Hermione huffed, "You must know what his illness really is. I wouldn't expect you not to. Even if you haven't seen it in your dreams, you've got to be smart enough to decipher the signs."

"I admit, I know," Ella merely stated without much care.

The girl looked at Ella in shock, "But aren't you worried that he could be dangerous? I've done a lot of research on creatures like that. They can be extremely vicious!"

"His condition does not define him as a person. He's not that by choice, he didn't have a choice. I trust him with my life, you should too," Ella told Hermione confidently.

"All right…" Hermione began, "I'll cover for him. I was wondering if I should tell anyone."

She shook her head, "He'd never be allowed to return. The other parents would be in an uproar that he was teaching us even if he's the best teacher we've had yet."

Hermione frowned, "He is the best teacher we've had in that class. I'd feel bad if I were the reason he had to leave."

"Besides, Dumbledore knew what he was when he hired him. He wouldn't have given him the job if he hadn't trusted him," Ella informed Hermione who seemed to physically relax before turning back to her work.

"I won't tell anyone…it'd be wrong."

Ella relaxed as well thinking, _"Crisis averted." _

A week after the start of term, Ravenclaw played Slytherin. It was a difficult match for Ella because as much as she wanted Cho to win, there was no way she wanted the Slytherins to lose and get the Gryffindors kicked out of the running. Hermione decided to stay inside the castle and use the silence to her advantage. Ella went with her friends to see the match and ended up sitting with the Gryffindor team. She felt bad for leaving Lee, but he understood.

It was a narrow loss, but Slytherin came out on top. Cho looked sad, but Ella thought she played excellently. She would've had the Snitch if a Slytherin Beater hadn't sent a Bludger at her. The team all looked towards Oliver when the match had ended.

"What does this mean?" Ella asked him.

Wood looked towards the team and announced, "This is good news for Gryffindor. If we beat Ravenclaw then we'll be versing Slytherin in the final and can still win this. That's why I'm increasing our practices to five times a week." The twins groaned, but they didn't argue. The manic look in Oliver's eyes was enough to shut even them up.

As the time passed, Hermione became more and more unhinged as the stress of her work load began piling on her. She was on the verge of tears more often than not and Ella could hardly keep her calm. Hermione needed Harry and Ron back, but the boys were just as stubborn as they had been earlier in the term. Every night without fail, Hermione would sit in a corner of the Common Room with books stacked higher than the Weasley twins were tall. There was only so much Ella could do with her own work load piling ever higher.

Some nights, Ella would send Hermione to talk with Hagrid about plans for Buckbeak's trial. Hagrid informed her at one of her Care of Magical Creature lessons that Hermione normally ended up in tears at some point during these meetings, but Ella confided in him that she hoped it would happen. She didn't mean it in a rude way, but Hermione bottled things up for as long as she could. Ella thought that these moments where she let it all go in Hagrid's hut were more than beneficial to her mental health and stability. Even so, Ella did her best to help out when she could. There was no possible way to improve anything –Ella was having enough trouble just keeping her own spirits up much less Hermione's.

Each night a myriad of terrors would descend upon Ella and nearly suffocate her until she woke up. She felt twitchy when she walked around the school. There was no way to fully get the images out of her mind. The ruins of the dream reverberated in the back of her head while she walked through the school. She couldn't image something like that happening. What was worse was that she couldn't stop the dreams without an immense amount of effort on her behalf. The curse was blocking her –it seemed to be doing more harm than good. Ella was slowly becoming fed up with it all.

Ella reached a Divinations class a little later and noticed McLaggen sitting by himself.

"Where's Cho?"

Cormac looked up, "Didn't you hear? She got injured during a Quidditch practice. They're not even sure she'll be able to play."

Her eyes widened, "That's horrible!"

"For Ravenclaw, it's not so bad for Gryffindor," McLaggen stated loftily.

"She's still our friend. Don't you feel slightly bad about the fact she's hurt?" Ella questioned with a pointed look.

"Course I do! But that doesn't mean I'm completely against the idea of an easy win going to our team. We deserve to win!" He exclaimed and Ella couldn't help but roll her eyes. Such a typical boy.

The clock seemed to be ticking towards the Ravenclaw match and despite the bitter weather; the team was out on the pitch five nights a week. They'd come back shivering and splattered with mud. Ella grinned at the sight of the twins as they came through the portrait hole.

"Well look at the two of you! Am I friends with humans or mud monsters?" She laughed.

George rolled his eyes, "Very funny… How would you like a hug?" He leaned towards her and she backed up as far as she could manage.

"I'm fine! I'm fine. Please don't hug me!" Ella cried out and Fred joined in. "Don't make me curse you two into oblivion!"

"Mud monsters aren't affected by your spells. We're unstoppable!" Fred cackled acting like an odd cross between a vampire and werewolf. Both boys tightly hugged a squirming Ella all the while ignoring her pleas.

She crossed her now muddy arms when they let go and huffed, "Thank you both for the wonderful experience of being crushed to death by two smelly and dirty boys." They grinned before heading off to shower. Ella couldn't help but grin slightly, though. They always could cheer her up –even in the most obnoxious ways.

That night, Ella decided to take a break from the awful nightmares and visit Sirius. It was becoming increasingly difficult to meet with him because she was always so tired because of her classes. Today was the first day in a while that she managed the feat. Crookshanks rarely ever came to the Common Room anymore.

"Hello Ella," said Sirius as she transformed back into herself. He was petting Crookshanks in a chair that was positioned in the corner of a room with a small bed.

Ella smiled slightly, "Hello Sirius, how's your planning going?"

Sirius grinned towards the cat and cryptically informed, "Oh, we believe we've got quite the plan laid out. It should come into action in a short while."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. That's wonderful news," Ella told them. Crookshanks purred loudly.

"Do you want to hear it?"

"No, you can just surprise me," Ella mumbled looking around the small room. It was shredded from years where Lupin would howl and cry out while being a werewolf. Sirius decided to tell her the tale of almost getting Snape killed until the sun was nearly ready to rise and they said goodbye. Ella could understand Snape's loathing towards Lupin so much more.

The rest of the week seemed relatively calm until the Thursday night before the Quidditch match arrived. Ella and her friends were all relaxing and listening to Fred, George, and Lee tell them about the first prank they did together at Hogwarts –a story that got more absurd each time they told it. The portrait hole had swung open mid-story and Harry, Ron, and Neville entered with the Firebolt.

It suddenly seemed like every single Gryffindor was surrounding them at that very moment. They were all asking Harry where he got the broom and saying how great it'd be against Ravenclaw. Ella's excitement mingled in with everyone else's. The twins were practically bouncing on the balls of their feet. All of her friends got to hold it and even Ella, who knew nothing about brooms, knew it had to be amazing.

"Can you imagine that?" George said excitedly.

"We've got a real Firebolt on our team now!" Fred exclaimed to his brother and friends.

Angelina was beaming from ear to ear, "Those Ravenclaws won't know what hit them! They'll be completely shocked."

"We're going to win this year for sure now!" Katie nearly shouted.

Ella shook her head, "Don't become cocky, but you're right. It looks like an amazing broomstick!"

Lee scoffed at her, "Amazing doesn't even cover it! I've done my research, it's astounding. It's –"

A strangled yell came from the boy's dormitory at that exact moment. The entire Common Room seemed to fall silent.

"That…sounded like Ron…" Fred said with a hint of worry. Footsteps began thundering down the stairs quickly and growing in volume with each step. Ron finally appeared in the room with a great leap. His bedsheet was in his hands and a look of fury was etched across his face.

"LOOK!" He roared striding over to Hermione's table. Ella tried to take a step forward, but George held her back. "LOOK!" Ron bellowed once more shaking the sheet in Hermione's face.

"Ron, what –?"

"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!"

Ella's forehead creased in confusion. What had happened to Pettigrew? Had Sirius and Crookshanks succeeded in getting rid of him?

Ron continued shouting, "BLOOD!" The distressed third year showed the sheet the stunned Gryffindors. "HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?"

Hermione's voice trembled, "N-no."

The boy threw something down on her rune books and the two leaned in to see it. Hermione looked ready to burst into tears and went to the girl's dormitory without bothering to take any of her books. Ron looked so distressed that he just carried the sheet back upstairs without looking at the crowd around him.

Ella took a few tentative steps forward. All eyes in the Common Room turned to her. She peered over Harry's shoulder at what Ron dropped on the book and saw several long ginger cat hairs. They were so obviously from Crookshanks that she nearly cheered that Pettigrew was gone. She was safe from him revealing her secret. Sirius could move away and restart his life somewhere else and be safe as well. He probably already had. The whole situation was practically perfect.

Keeping her voice even as possible, Ella announced to the room, "His rat got eaten by her cat." And everyone went back to their own conversations.

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**A/N: There's the latest chapter! :) How was it? The reviews from last time were excellent! Keep them up and I'll keep up with these updates!**


	13. Chapter 13: Gryffindor versus Slytherin

**I don't own the Harry Potter series. All rights go to J.K. Rowling.**

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Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw

The feud between Ron and Hermione had reached its peak and even Ella wasn't able to comfort the third year girl. She was completely turned away when she tried to help. Hermione was now solely focused on herself and Hagrid. Ella didn't take it personally, but she still wished she could help out. Similarly, the twins tried to cheer up Ron, but he, too, was inconsolable.

"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was. And he's been off-color for ages, he was wasting away. It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly –one swallow –he probably didn't feel a thing."

"_Fred!_" Ginny cried appalled. Ella, for one, agreed with Fred's idea. It was for the better.

George ignored his little sister and reminded, "All he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said it yourself."

"He bit Goyle for us once!" Ron countered miserably. "Remember, Harry?"

Harry nodded and tried sounding as sincere as possible as he said, "Yeah, that's true."

Fred, who no longer could keep a straight face, told Ron, "His finest hour. Let the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory. Oh, come on, Ron, get yourself down to Hogsmeade and buy a new rat, what's the point of moaning?"

Ron refused to cheer up until Harry offered to let him take a ride on his Firebolt at the final practice before the match. This certainly cheered him up enough that Ella and the twins could move away from the boys. Ginny moved to talk to Colin Creevey, a boy in her year who had been Petrified with Ella the year before.

"Stupid cat, I think Ron's got the right to be angry," George remarked as they all sat at an empty table.

Ella snorted, "A right to be angry because a cat was acting like a cat? Come off it. This was simply nature at work, nothing more or less."

George rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say, but that cat had it out for Scabbers from the start. Crookshanks only ever went after him and there are plenty of other rats in this place."

"Maybe Crookshanks is a mercy giving cat. He saw that Scabbers was wasting away, as Fred so elegantly put it, and so he decided to target Scabbers in order to end his life quickly," Ella argued back.

The two looked at Fred with their eyes urging him to take their side.

"Oh no, I'm not getting involved with this. It's a rat, no point in arguing over its death."

_Snowflakes were falling from the inky sky above. Ella had already been through her terrifying dreams and this was a new one. She'd been panicked moments before by the ever nearing future, but in this dream she felt extremely sad. _

_Her breath fogged the air and she was willing herself to not cry, but why would she want to cry anyway? It was just a boy. Ella knew it was a boy, but who was the boy she was upset over? Why was she outside in the frozen air feeling upset? She heard rushed footsteps headed towards her, but she ignored them. She didn't want to be bothered at the moment._

_Not wanting to be bothered threw her into another dream. She wasn't pleased to see the dragon facing the boy she couldn't recognize. He seemed to be doing very well, but why anyone would want a golden egg was beyond her. This was like sticking your hand in a shark tank after getting a paper cut. A broom whizzed by her head._

She shot up without a cry or yell the morning of the match, but her heart was pounding in her throat. Ella could have sworn that the person on the broomstick was Harry, but she wasn't completely sure. He'd never appeared in the dream before. Granted, that didn't stop Harry from getting pulled into dangerous, life-threatening situations anyway. Ella went down to the Great Hall with the team and Lee. The Firebolt was receiving an honorary treatment and was parade down from Gryffindor tower.

The entire Great Hall was infatuated by its presence. Soon after it was sent down Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws began to come over to get a closer look at the best broom in the world. Ella noticed that the whole team was practically swelling with pride. Fred and George were grinning broadly at the thunderstruck Slytherins across the Hall.

"Do you think I could touch it?" Penelope Clearwater, Percy's girlfriend, asked Harry in awe.

He let her and Percy heartily warned his girlfriend, "Now, now, Penny, no sabotage!" He looked towards the team, "Penelope and I have got a bet on. Ten Galleons on the outcome of the match!"

Penelope smiled sheepishly and told Harry, "Thanks." The she left back to her table.

Percy turned to Harry with an urgent whisper that was just barely audible to Ella and the twins, "Harry –make sure you win. _I haven't got ten Galleons._ Yes, I'm coming, Penny!" He then rushed away to go eat with her. Ella and the twins erupted in a fit of laughter.

"Glad to see he's becoming more like us," Fred said proudly.

"I suppose we should help him then?" George asked.

"You better! We don't want to lose just to get at Percy!" Ella told them both. The excitement had finally crept into her and she was buzzing with the same energy as everyone else in the hall. The Firebolt only added fuel to the fire.

Malfoy swaggered over a few minutes after and jeered, "Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?"

"Yeah, reckon so," Harry said casually.

His eyes glinted and he said conversationally, "Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? Shame it doesn't come with a parachute –in case you get too near a dementor." The Gryffindors within earshot immediately glared towards Malfoy. His cronies sniggered stupidly.

"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy. Then it could catch the Snitch for you." Harry retorted smugly. The team laughed loudly and Malfoy scurried away to tell the Slytherin team that it was indeed a real Firebolt.

At a quarter to eleven, Lee and Ella's friends left for the pitch and the two friends sat for a bit longer before going themselves. Instead of a torrential downpour of rain, the day was crystal clear with a slight breeze.

"Excellent conditions!" Lee exclaimed happily as they made their way to the booth. "They'll actually hear me this time around." Ella just smiled and took her seat next to him.

They waited only a short while for the teams to enter the field. The Gryffindor team looked nervous yet confident while the Ravenclaw team eyed Harry's broom with a mixture of envy, awe, and apprehension. Cho gave Harry a small smile and Ella was glad she was well enough to play. She very nearly missed it from her injury. The whistle blew and all the players shot in the air –none higher than Harry.

"They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor." Ella looked over towards Lee puzzled. He'd been excited but she didn't think he'd use his commentary on the broom instead of the game. "According to _Which Broomstick, _the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship –"

"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" McGonagall interrupted.

Lee grinned mischievously, "Right you are, Professor –just giving a bit of background information –the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and –"

"Jordan!"

"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor heading for goal…" Lee commented about the game with the same enthusiasm. Ella leaned forward to see Katie moving closer to the Ravenclaw Keeper.

"_YES!" _Ella yelled as Katie score Gryffindor's first goal. Just as they were celebrating that first goal, Harry began diving towards the ground. It was obvious he had just caught sight of the Snitch and everyone was watching him with bated breath. A Ravenclaw Beater chose that moment to whack a Bludger his way. In the time it took Harry to avoid the object, the Snitch had disappeared. Ella sighed in disappointment as the game continued on. George smacked a Bludger at the Beater to get even with the action.

"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero," Lee announced to the anxious crowd after another Gryffindor goal was scored. "And look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn –Chang's Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision-balance is really noticeable in these long –"

"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVIRETISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!" McGonagall hollered at Lee who'd gotten off topic again. Ella knew it was no use. Once Lee was in a certain mindset there was no redirecting him.

Ravenclaw began playing even harder after that. They managed to score three goals in a short amount of time. If Cho caught the Snitch, it'd be all over for Gryffindor. Harry was frantically searching for the Snitch and when it seemed like he'd finally spotted it –Cho blocked him. Ella groaned. It was difficult to not be resentful of her Divinations friend when she was blocking them so thoroughly.

"HARRY, THIS IS NO TIME TO BE A GENTLEMAN! KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO!" Wood bellowed so that nearly everyone could hear him. Ella didn't completely agree, but Harry looked dazed in Cho's presence.

Cho followed Harry's broom without a care in the world. It was her tactic to find the Snitch. Let Harry spot it, and then take it herself. Clever, but not full proof. Harry caught sight of the Snitch and shot off once more. Cho followed several feet below him. He was getting closer when there was a gasp from the crowd. Three black dementors were on the ground, but there was something wrong about it. There was no chill in the air. Ella watched Harry, not hearing any screams herself.

"_Expecto Patronum!" _Harry yelled pulling a wand out of his shirt. A silver stag erupted from it and charged the three creatures. Ella saw them topple over revealing Malfoy, his friends, and the Slytherin Captain –no dementors at all. Madam Hooch's whistle blew just as Harry managed to grab ahold of the Snitch.

The entire Gryffindor crowd erupted in loud cheers and all the Gryffindor teammates collided in a giant hug. Alicia, Angelina, and Katie all gave Harry a kiss and Fred was hugging him so tightly out of excitement that it seemed like Harry wasn't able to breathe. Lee barely managed to choke out the final score before Ella was pulling to meet the team as they landed on the field. Ron was leading the hoard of Gryffindors straight to the team, and Ella sprinted to catch up to the happy people.

Ron yanked Harry's hand into the air and screamed, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Many others were letting out roars of compliments to Harry. The team was flushed with happiness as was much of the Gryffindors.

Fred turned and caught sight of Ella. He rushed over and gave her a hug lifting her completely off her feet and spinning her around. She let out a breathless laugh as he set her back down, but before anything else could be said the girls were hugging Ella as well.

"You were all wonderful!" Ella yelled out over everyone else. The rest of them just beamed at each other.

"This calls for a celebration!" Fred roared and the Gryffindors cheered in approval. "Where's Harry?"

"There!" George said pointing to the edge of the field. Ella followed Fred and George as they made their way to him. "Come on, Harry! Party! Gryffindor Common Room, now!"

"Right!" The boy called back and the twins pulled Ella along through the crowds of people.

It was just the three of them and Fred explained the game plan, "We'll go to the kitchens first for the butterbeers, and then we'll go to Honeydukes for the sweets. It'll take a little while but we should manage it in a little over an hour."

Ella nodded doing her best to keep up with the twins' long strides, "And we'll leave money at Honeydukes, won't we?"

George laughed, "We always do." So Ella followed them into the kitchens where the House Elves gathered as many butterbeer bottles as they could. Ella asked one House Elf if there was any way she could get a calming potion for her friend.

"Oh yes, Miss! We House Elves are very good at helping with things like those. People come to us for medicine stuff all the time, they do!" The Elf squeaked to her. She tucked the small bottle in her robes and followed Fred and George shortly after that.

It was a long walk to Hogsmeade, but Fred and George kept cracking jokes so their good mood would last. Fred kept looking towards Ella, but she was talking animatedly to George about how furious McGonagall was at Lee for advertising the Firebolt so much. George was laughing, but tried to get Fred back in the conversation as much as he could.

Soon enough, they had all the food and were back in the Common Room with everyone else. There was a great deal of cheering when they all arrived with arms filled with treats. They were all shocked but pleased to see the Weasley twins had done it again.

"How did you do that?" Angelina squealed as George began throwing Peppermint Toads to the crowd of Gryffindors. Ella looked over in surprise at the two boys.

"You never told any of the other girls about the kitchens or Hogsmeade?"

Fred shook his head, "Only you."

"But why?" Ella asked him curiously.

"We felt closest to you," George explained to her. "You were the one person we could trust with the secret entrances and passageways." She blushed but was quickly caught up in all the festivities. The party continued all through the day and well into the night.

Ella was laughing at Fred and George as they juggled some butterbeers and occasionally tossed one bottle to the other. It was really impressive. They took a break after ten minutes of the coordination.

"So Ella –" Fred was cut off before he'd barely started.

"If Scabbers hadn't been _eaten_, he could have had some of those Fudge Flies. He used to really like them!" Ron said loudly. Ella watched Hermione burst into tears and run up to the girl's dormitory with her book.

She turned to Fred, "I'm sorry, I need to go help her."

"That's fine," Fred said in a slightly strained voice. Ella assumed it was at Ron's rudeness.

Without another moment's delay, Ella rushed up to Hermione's room in the girl's dormitory. She was softly crying into her Muggle Studies text book. Ella doubted she could even read a single word. Ella moved slowly to the edge of Hermione's bed. She sat on the edge and ran her hand through Hermione's bushy hair similarly to how Mr. Weasley had.

"I-I didn't th-think Crookshanks w-w-would ever eat Scabbers," Hermione hiccoughed.

"It's alright, I know," Ella whispered soothingly to her. "I think you need to take a break for tonight. Here –I got this calming potion for you." Ella popped the cork off and handed the slightly steaming drink to Hermione. The girl didn't even question it and downed the potion in one go. Nearly instantly, her eyes slid out of focus. Ella gathered up her books and put them away as Hermione fell asleep.

Ella returned to the party for almost an hour more before McGonagall came into the Common Room and yelled at them to go to bed. Reluctantly, the Gryffindor students made their way to bed. Ella rested her head on the pillow feeling completely happy. Sure, her dreams were awful, but Pettigrew was gone and Gryffindor was a match away from the Quidditch Cup. It was wonderful.

_Things were terrible. The crowd of masked people were laughing and cackling all around her and she didn't know which way to turn. She just knew there'd be no chance of getting away from them, so she knew she couldn't be caught. There were others being tossed about through the air and it was enough to twist Ella's stomach around. Ella fell on a tree branch and scraped her palms trying to soften the blow. _

_People were rushing all around her and it seemed like they were nearly trampling her. Ella couldn't make it back on her feet. The people were getting nearer and Ella felt a scream beginning to rise in her throat._

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Ella jolted awake, but she wasn't the one yelling. It came from the boy's dormitory. Ella and Katie jumped out of their beds and began to descend to the Common Room. There was some commotion going on down there. Other girls that heard the yell were coming down as well.

"What's all the noise?"

"Professor McGonagall told us to go to bed!"

"Excellent, are we carrying on?" Fred asked just as the twins appeared.

Percy scrambled into the room pinning his Head Boy badge to his pajamas, "Everyone back upstairs!"

Ron stood in the middle of the Common Room with all of his roommates looking extremely pale. More people kept coming down, but Ron's eyes were locked on Percy. He trembled horribly.

"Perce –Sirius Black! In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!" Ron spluttered in a faint voice.

The Common Room went very still. Ella's mind raced wildly. If Sirius came in the castle and went to Ron that must have meant Pettigrew was still alive. Why didn't she see it before? The rat faked his death for a second time.

"Nonsense!" Percy assured his brother looking startled nonetheless. "You had too much to eat, Ron –had a nightmare –"

"I'm telling you –"

The portrait hole opened and slammed shut causing everyone to jump. Professor McGonagall reprimanded, "Now, really, enough's enough! I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"

"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor!" Percy responded. "I was just telling them all to get back to bed! My brother, Ron here had a nightmare –"

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron shouted at Percy, losing his temper. "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP; AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!"

Professor McGonagall stared at Ron before scoffing, "Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possibly have gotten through the portrait hole?"

"Ask him! Ask him if he saw –" Ron told her pointing shakily towards Sir Cadogan.

She huffed before leaving the room and going out to talk to the portrait. Everyone waited in anticipation at the outcome. Ella's ears were so focused on the conversation she was surprised she couldn't hear their heartbeats.

"Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?"

"Certainly, good lady!" The portrait cried proudly. Everyone's mouths dropped open.

"You –you _did_?" McGonagall asked in shock. "But –but the password!"

Cadogan defended himself, "He had 'em! Had the whole week's, my lady! Read 'em off a little piece of paper!"

She returned to face the stunned crowd with a face white as snow, "Which person…which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?" Ella paled realizing what happened.

Neville Longbottom raised his hand slowly, and a flood of guilt crashed on Ella.

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**A/N: Sorry this is late a day. Busy week of classes and all. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! As always keep up with the wonderful reviews. They're really amazing!**


	14. Chapter 14: Snape's Grudge

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

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Snape's Grudge

Ella waited with the other Gryffindors in the Common Room for the rest of the night. Not a single person got an ounce more of sleep. Ella was aware that the entire castle was being searched once more, and she couldn't help but be nervous. Her friends were muttering around her about how frightening it was to know Black had been in their House. Ella didn't join in the conversation.

How could he be so stupid? This was the second time he'd done something that could potentially get him caught and/or killed. The first time was bad enough, but doing it a second time –Ella couldn't even fathom the lack of common sense. Sirius had once again attempted to break into the Gryffindor Common Room and kill Peter Pettigrew, and Pettigrew wasn't even there anymore. Where had Crookshanks been that he hadn't informed Sirius of that? Ella hadn't seen the cat in a while, but she assumed it would've at least seen that the rat was no longer in the castle. Even she thought he'd been eaten.

All the joy she'd felt before melted away. Sure, they won the game, but Quidditch was a school thing. Pettigrew escaping and living would have a bigger impact than losing the Cup. Of course she wanted to win, but the premonition of a horrible future seemed like it would be the result of Wormtail eluding capture. The whole image of a destroyed castle weighed heavily on her mind.

"How do you think he got in, Ella?" Katie squeaked. She looked as terrified as anyone else.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ella asked her friends who stared back blankly. "He must have had the passwords Neville wrote down and used them to get. He probably picked them up from the grounds or something. I don't understand it, but that's how it looks to me."

Her friends nodded solemnly, and Ella felt bad for being so terse towards them. She just felt stressed from Sirius's lack of brain function. It didn't take a super genius to know that breaking into the castle and tearing into someone's curtains with a knife would get you caught in a heartbeat. Ella felt exhausted by morning, but it was good to know that Sirius Black had once more eluded capture.

The whole day, Ella was focused on getting outside to talk to Sirius and ask him what was going through his stupid mind. There were many little things that had changed to provide more security after the break in. Professor Flitwick was making sure that all the front doors new the picture of Sirius Black. Ella didn't realize that doors could be taught facial recognition, but she figured magic had done stranger things than that. Filch bustled through the halls boarding up every nook and cranny the school had to offer. It was an odd sight, but Ella thought it was actually rather smart to board up the smallest holes possible seeing as if it was big enough for a dog, he could get through. Finally, to everyone's happiness, Sir Cadogan had been fired.

Ella could've cheered when the teachers took away his portrait and reinstated the Fat Lady. She was extremely jittery but two guard trolls were stationed on either side of her picture to provide extra protection. It was unbelievable since only two years before there'd been total panic at a troll being released into the school –and _that _troll nearly killed three students! The sight of the great brutes frightened Ella more than she'd care to admit, and she couldn't help but think that their presence was more of a hazard than a help.

When night finally fell, Ella took no time in transforming and racing towards the Shrieking Shack. Getting smacked around by the Whomping Willow only fueled her frustration at the man. As she entered into his room, she burst out of her transformation. Sirius looked at her in shock, but then calmed down with the realization of why she was there. This time his decision had been even worse than before. He should've known that at the soonest possible moment, Ella would be breathing down his neck like a nagging sibling.

"What on Earth were you thinking?" Ella snapped at him.

Sirius sighed not bothering to stand from his chair, "It was a desperate attempt, I'll admit –"

"Desperate? No, desperate can still work. This was just absolutely idiotic. I can't believe that a person could do something so stupid twice. What do you think was going to happen? Pettigrew hasn't even been in the castle for weeks! I assumed the cat took him to you," Ella ranted.

"Well, he didn't. Pettigrew must have faked his own death once again."

"That much is obvious. What I can't comprehend is why you keep acting like an idiot," Ella retorted with her hands on her hips.

The man looked at her with faint annoyance, "If you think I'm going to apologize for my actions, you're going to be extremely disappointed."

Ella huffed, "I don't need an apology. It's not my life at stake at the moment. You're the one facing a kiss from those dementors. If you want that to happen then keep acting like you are now. First Halloween, now this!"

Sirius gave a bitter laugh, "For such a bright girl, I would've thought you'd figured it out by now."

"Figured what out?" Ella bit back harsher than she intended.

The man looked away from her, "Halloween. Twelve years ago on that day was when… Well, I just figured it would be fitting if he met his end on that day."

"You acted as though you didn't care that you didn't catch him," Ella countered but the puzzle pieces had already fallen in her head. Of course he tried on Halloween, and of course he was becoming more desperate.

"Of course I acted that way, why should I let it show how frustrated I am that I can't catch this stupid rat?" Sirius said returning his gaze to her once more. His anger was beginning to show, but Ella was too frustrated to notice.

Ella sighed, "It doesn't matter how frustrated you are. Things like this are just out of hand. I know you're upset but the rational way to do these things were available for the longest time, but you couldn't live with the possibility of just allowing the cat to do Pettigrew in. No…it has to be you!"

"You don't understand."

"What don't I understand?"

Sirius choked on the words he wanted to say, "This –all of this –it's my fault. Lily and James…they'd be alive if it weren't for my stupid idea. They're dead and this –this is my way to avenge them. If I could just destroy that rat it'd make everything easier. He has to die by my hand because it's my fault. He's alive and they're not because of me. I'm the reason things are like this so it's my job to murder him and be done with this mess."

The look in his eyes was a mixture of rage and despair. He looked like a man who was utterly lost and confused. For once, Ella had no uplifting words or inspirational phrases to throw at him. She couldn't think of a single thing that'd make him feel better. If one of her friends did something this despicable and was the reason one of her friends were dead…well, she'd probably do the same thing. It was very silent and awkward when the two parted. Ella had no words for the rest of the evening. The loneliness that Sirius suffered was so heartbreakingly real that Ella had trouble coming to terms with it. Could that be something she'd feel in her lifetime?

The next few days passed in a manner nearly similar to the previous time Sirius broke in. Most people were gossiping about how he managed it, and Ron was the star of the students' questioning. He was constantly surrounded by people who wanted to know what happened when Sirius broke into his dormitory. The first few tales seemed genuine, and then as time went on, they became more and more ludicrous.

On a different note, Neville was completely blamed for the unfortunate event. It was his list that got lost and that Sirius found so it was Neville who took the fall. If Sirius hadn't been so dejected after their last meeting Ella would've went back for a round two of fighting. Ella felt guiltier than anything about Neville's current state of affairs. He'd received detention, a Howler, wasn't allowed to know the password, and was banned from Hogsmeade for the rest of the year. Ella apologized profusely to him about giving him bad advice, but the sweet boy was determined to take the blame on himself. So Ella took matters to the only person she could think of.

"Professor, you really can't blame all of this on Neville. Black would've found a way into the castle regardless. It's just an unfortunate circumstance that Neville's list ended up actually being the result. Is it really necessary to bestow such heavy punishments on him?" Ella tried reasoning.

McGonagall spoke to her with authority, "I respect what you are trying to do Miss. Worthington, but you cannot sway my decision. Unfortunate, yes, but nearly deadly as well. It is better to instill this punishment."

Ella felt exasperated, "But it wasn't even his idea, Professor. I made the suggestion to him once Sir Cadogan was put in place. That daft knight made it difficult for us all –it was inevitable that this would happen."

The professor gave her a severe look, "Whether or not you suggested this, it was Mr. Longbottom who made and lost that list. He's the one at fault here."

"But preventing him from going to Hogsmeade seems completely out of proportion! What's Neville going to do –confer with Black? It's absurd. The Howler, detention, and refusal of the password is punishment enough, don't you think?" Ella debated skillfully.

McGonagall shook her head, "I wish I could agree with you, but my word is final. Good day, Miss. Worthington."

With that the professor left her in the hallway and continued on to her office. Ella felt as though she had personally failed Neville. Such a kind boy like him didn't deserve all the bad things that fell on his shoulders. If only people knew…they'd be much kinder towards him.

It seemed like Ella's helping hands were going nowhere now. Sirius was in a state of desperate depression that Ella couldn't fix and her advice to Neville managed to do more harm than good in the long run. Even Hermione couldn't be helped by Ella any longer. She was beyond stressed and it was easy to see that she had bitten off more than she could chew. Hagrid was the only person she'd talk to, not even Ella could convince her to relax and take a bit of a break. She'd go down to Hagrid's hut nearly every night and Hagrid informed Ella that more often than not she'd collapse into sobs almost immediately. Ella felt like she was losing grip on reality.

"You can't keep blaming yourself for all this," Ginny said sliding into the seat across from her in the Common Room. She had a burning look in her eyes that Ella had seen in Mrs. Weasley's and others had seen in her own eyes.

"What do you mean?" Ella murmured playing dumb.

Ginny scoffed, "Don't act like I'm too young to understand, I can see it. You feel like something is your fault, probably Hermione. Well, don't. If she wants to only have Harry and Ron as friends –let her figure that all out. You've got enough on your plate as is. You can't feel guilty about the things you can't help, believe me, I know."

Ella looked at one of her closest friends. No one could deny that she knew how it felt to think something was entirely her fault. She attacked half the school's Muggle-borns the year before, but she'd been possessed so it wasn't her fault.

"You're right, I've done my best and I can't really let it get me down."

"Glad that's settled then," Ginny said with a smile.

"Right, well, how are you in any case? How's your friend?" Ella asked casually.

The girl who was like a sister to Ella smiled, "Wonderfully weird as ever, but she's still my friend. She's anxious to meet you. I've told her quite a bit about you."

She shot her a curious look, "All good things, I hope."

"Of course, and even if you were weird she'd still like you," Ginny replied flippantly. Ella had heard a lot about Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw. Some people called her Looney, but Ginny insisted that Luna was a kind girl but slightly eccentric at times.

"Well I suppose that's good. I'll have to meet her sometime then," Ella shrugged turning back to her work. Ginny wandered off to talk to Colin Creevey who gave a shy wave to Ella.

The next day, Ella travelled to Hogsmeade with her friends. She felt awful about Neville remaining back at the school, but there was no more that she could do. While she wished that the day had gone similarly to the last time she was in Hogsmeade, it was pretty much the opposite. She spent the day wandering around the little shops with Angelina, Alicia, and Katie.

As much fun as her girlfriends were, Ella had hoped that some of that magic that pulled her and Fred so close the last time would happen again. It didn't seem like it was destined to happen this trip. Fred and George were with Lee getting supplies for their business. Ella got to help with it sometimes, but today the girls wanted the four of them to hang out.

"So, are you and George any closer to being together?" Katie teased to Angelina as they ogled at dresses in one of the shop windows.

Her face burned brightly, "No, but he does get somewhat sillier around me. I think that's a positive sign, but who knows?"

"I certainly don't. I think both of the twins look at me as just a sister. It's so frustrating to have Fred be so oblivious. There are times when I think it's going to happen and then nothing actually does," Ella told her friends.

"Now that is frustrating," Angelina complied and Ella groaned. Figures that none of them knew what to do in this case. Boys were impossible.

"Look on the bright side," Katie said suddenly. "Soon enough, the championship will be here and we'll be able to celebrate winning the Quidditch Cup!"

Alicia's eyes lit up, "I can't wait to finally have that in our grasp! We're so close!"

The excited chatter lasted the girls until they reached Gryffindor Tower. The girls moved through the Common Room to make their way to the girls' staircase. Ella spotted Neville sitting alone at a table working on a paper for one of his classes. Ella moved over and tripped over his bag.

"I'm so sorry!" She rushed to apologize helping to pick up some papers and books that fell out.

Neville shook his head, "It's fine, it's fine." Ella helped him finish picking it up then made her way up to her dormitory after apologizing once more.

It wouldn't be until much later, just before Neville crawled into bed, that he noticed something sitting in his bag. A little sack of Honeydukes sweets had been snuck in by Ella as she passed. The young boy smiled at the little note that read: _We all make mistakes, this one was mine. Sorry, Neville. Your friend, Ella. _He popped a chocolate into his mouth then crawled into bed happy that he had a friend looking after him.

_A little silver chain held a tiny hourglass on it. Ella thought it was a pretty fashion statement, but wondered what could be so significant about it that she'd dream about it. As she'd done many times before, she stretched her hand towards the object hoping that it didn't end up having a horrible outcome –which wasn't a rare occurrence in matters like these. _

_There was no pain, but Ella got what she wanted from the brief contact. A ton of images spread out in front of her. People she did and did not know were all using the little object. A Time-Turner –she believed it was called. The only person Ella had eyes for was Hermione. She was easily found as the thirteen year old in a crowd of adults. Her appearance was as flustered as she had been in the past months. She fumbled with the Time-Turner with glossed over eyes and clumsy fingers. _

"_That's how you've done it!" Ella said suddenly. No one paid her any mind. In her dreams, she could speak freely and never disrupt the others unless she tried. Unless she was having a frantic dream like the nightmares she'd been subjected to before. Ella studied the image before her with growing curiosity. This tiny little object could send the wearer back in time, and Hermione had one. The possibilities were endless. Only, this particular item was being used to get a girl to multiple classes. Ella couldn't help but think there may have been better uses to an object with that much power, but far be it from her to tell the Ministry that. _

_Before she could observe more, the dream shifted into a new place. This was an actual place where she could feel the dewy grass under her paws. The inky sky above was brightened by a shrouded full moon. Ella saw a werewolf in front of her. The creature was fully mature and absolutely terrifying as it snarled and bared its teeth. Ella felt herself moving backwards to get away from the beast, only something else caught her eye._

_A large hippogriff was standing in front of Harry and Hermione who both seemed scared out of their wits. Who wouldn't be with a fully grown werewolf glaring at them. A piercing shriek exited Hermione's mouth as the wolf made its way towards the three. Ella's eyes widened in fear of this vision of the future. Buckbeak reared on his hind legs as Lupin pounced towards their group paying no mind to Ella at all. _

_Two human screams of terror projected into the night air._

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :) Don't forget to review! **


	15. Chapter 15: The Quidditch Final

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series.**

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The Quidditch Final

From the corner of the Common Room, it was easy for Ella to see that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were friends once more. The trio was once again a whole since Crookshanks never appeared and Pettigrew was god knows where. That was one of the things that frightened Ella most about this whole endeavor. She thought Pettigrew had been killed and wouldn't be able to reveal her abilities to anyone, but that was no longer the case. He was roaming about and there was no way to find him or stop him. She had tried looking for him, but Pettigrew remained hidden like the rat he was.

Another terrible thing that occurred was Buckbeak had been scheduled to die after the hearing Hagrid and the hippogriff went to. Hagrid told her about it during a lesson, and Ella couldn't imagine how the creature could get out of it. She felt awful for not being able to even tell him that she'd seen Buckbeak free and fighting a werewolf. Ella wasn't even sure how or when that could possibly happen. At least, it seemed Ron was helping with the one last effort to save the animal that could possibly save Harry and Hermione's lives.

Ella entered the Common Room after her Transfigurations class to quickly grab her Divinations things. Hermione was studying her Arithmancy book with drooping eyelids. The older girl made her way over to make sure that the younger was feeling alright.

"Hello there," Ella said hesitantly. The girls hadn't been speaking much since she was once again friends with the boys.

Hermione glanced up, "Oh, hi. I'm just working on some homework before my Charms class. I've got quite the busy day today."

She nodded, "Seems like it. I'm just getting some things for Divinations."

"Oh, I have that class today too!" Hermione practically groaned as if she only just remembered. Ella frowned at the strain that Hermione was facing.

"Well, try to take it easy at least," Ella told the third year before rushing to grab her things. As she left through the portrait hole, Ella took one last look at Hermione. With a swish of her wand, Hermione's head began to drop slowly towards the book she'd been reading. Ella smiled at her handiwork before leaving to quickly tell Professor Flitwick why Hermione wouldn't be in class then rushed to Divinations in the nick of time.

"Whoa! Look out!" McLaggen shouted as Ella knocked over a candle on their table. He moved it to be upright, but a small burn was left on the table cloth despite his reflexes. "What's the rush?"

"I was going to be late," Ella shrugged taking a seat.

McLaggen laughed, "That happens to me all the time, but I don't nearly set fire to the class because of it."

Ella rolled her eyes, "Where's the fun in that?"

"You've been spending too much time with the Weasley twins. Next thing you know, we'll be sitting on Dungbombs in class, and you'll have put them there," Cormac told her. Before Ella could retort a raspy voice started the class.

"Hello all, I've been consulting the crystal orb to see how my lessons shall pan out for the day, and the heavens above have told me that it is time to discuss the final exam with you all."

Cho whispered, "Because I'm sure the calendar didn't have an influence in that at all." The two Gryffindors covered their mouths to try to hide their smirks.

Trelawney rasped on, "Since the exam last year was cancelled in celebration of the vanquishing of the Chamber of Secrets, I feel it deep within my soul that we should use a crystal ball in the final exam."

Cormac groaned, "I was awful at that. Why doesn't she just tell me I failed now and just save us both the trouble. I can't see an ounce of the future in there."

"I never got to try," Ella said. "I was Petrified when you all were working on that last year. If you think you're doomed, then I need to start digging my grave now."

"You've got a better chance than we do of actually seeing something," Cho reminded her. No matter how skeptical she was, Ella couldn't argue with that logic.

"So how do you think Quidditch will go?" Cormac asked Ella.

Cho responded before her, "Is that even a question? That Firebolt knocks out any and all competition. Besides, no one wants the Slytherins to win again except for the Slytherins themselves. It'll be a brutal battle."

"On and off the field. I can see it in their eyes. The Slytherins want to take out as many Gryffindor players as they possibly can so they can get a chance at winning," Ella told them. They were ignoring Trelawney's long drawn speech about proper crystal ball care.

The Ravenclaw nodded, "It's clear as day, and they're all going to go after Harry because he's the best Seeker in the school. I don't even care if that's an insult to myself. I work hard at being a good Seeker, but he was born to catch that Snitch."

McLaggen glanced at Ella, "You're going to be in a lot of crossfire. You're friends with over half the team."

Ella shrugged, "I'll survive. I know a thing or two about making sure that no one hurts my friends or me. Those gits won't know what hit them."

At any rate, Ella didn't have to worry about anyone trying to attack her or her friends just yet. The Easter holidays had to come before the final match would. When the holidays showed up, they brought a mountain of homework for each and every student in the school. The entire break was spent studying for hours on end. Hermione was worst off, but there were many others who were close to a break down with their class load. Ella hid in a broom cupboard one night to release all her stress in an outburst of sobs that she didn't want any of her friends to see. The dreams had been hitting her hard and all the assignments seemed to be blurring together into one big mess of confusion. She needed to release the pent up feelings before she completely lost her mind.

In a surprise twist, the twins were beginning to lose their cool with the idea of the O.W.L. Exams breathing down their neck. Ella seemed to be the only one to notice the bags growing under their eyes. The three were studying under a tree one day when the twins confided their fear to Ella.

"It's not that we necessarily care ourselves, but mum and dad would be disappointed if we didn't manage to get a bunch of O.W.L.s," George told her. His face was turned towards the lake and his eyes stared out without seeing much of it.

Fred nodded solemnly from his spot in the shallow water, "We like the idea of our business, but Bill and Charlie even Percy received high marks on this test. What if we screw up with the test, then the business, and end up disappointing everyone?" He picked up a stone and chucked it towards the smooth surface. The stone whizzed out, but refused to skip and sank slowly to the bottom.

He turned to look at Ella and she could feel George's eyes on her as well, "You both believe whole-heartedly in your business? It's what you want to do with your life, right?"

"Of course!"

"We want to make the world laugh and equip a new generation of pranksters when the time comes."

Ella slowly nodded her head, "Then, well, I don't think you should be worried about the test scores." The boys both looked at her in surprise. They'd found out a while ago that Ella always worked hard for near perfect marks in her classes. "Don't give me that look. I'm thinking of what's best for you both. This career path you've chosen is your dream, and I think you can do it. So who cares if you don't get hundreds of O.W.L.s, that's not necessary for you both."

Fred shifted around in the ankle deep waters before grinning slightly, "Well, if Ella says it's all right, then who are we to argue?" George still looked up sure.

"If you want I can help you study before the exams," Ella quickly interjected. George smiled slightly at her and the two went on watching Fred struggle with rock skipping. His colorful language was accompanied by George and Ella's laughter at the afternoon went on.

"_Just tell me what you see?" The high voice whispered into her ear._

_Ella jerked away from the noise, "You'll have to kill me before I let you see one bit of the future. I'll never talk."_

"_Foolish child, you're making things more difficult," it hissed at her._

"_Foolish idiot, you know nothing of compassion!" She spat at his voice though she couldn't see the body. Each night she had this conversation, but each night there were small differences in the dialogue. The theme was always the same, but the words would shift as though the future wasn't quite set in stone. _

"_You know what happens in the future though; I can see it in your eyes." Ella clamped the blue orbs tightly shut. Of course she'd seen the images; she couldn't get them out of her head. She refused to believe that wreckage and death would ever enter Hogwarts. _

_She shook her head refusing to open her eyes, "The future isn't concrete; there's still time for it to go a different way. Even I can't know how things will truly turn out."_

_A puff of breath brushed the back of her neck sending chills down her spine, "You seal your own fate, child." _

The nights no longer ended in screaming. Ella felt too old for that at this point, too numb to have that much of a reaction to these dreams. Every night she was interrogated and tempted to give away the future's secrets, but in the dream Ella could feel that she didn't have a curse on her. She was powerful enough to ward the questions away without the pain of the spell. It was a curious feeling, but despite the horrors making Ella feel powerless, the feeling of guarding her secrets unaided made her feel confident and strong.

Classes had begun once more and the tension between the Houses was exponentially larger than it had ever been. Fights started breaking out in the corridors just as Ella, Cho, and Cormac had predicted. Cormac, himself, got sent to the hospital wing with leeks coming out of his ears after taking on a Slytherin sixth year who had been plotting to jinx Angelina. Ella also had quite a few scrapes and bruises but hers were more in favor of being on defense, not offense. She was always with the team and ended up using multiple counter curses whenever she was alone with more than two teammates. There'd even been a fist fight between her and a Slytherin her age, but it was a completely idiotic move for her to even consider taking him on. Madam Pomfrey had to heal the black eye later and then it was off to a week's worth of detentions.

That night before the match, the Common Room was buzzing with nervous air and excited static. The teammates were especially jittery as they went about normal activities in a nearly hyperactive way. Wood sat in a corner prodding Quidditch figures about and muttering furiously to himself about the plays he could use the next day. Ella was tempted to use that sleeping spell on him, but figured it'd be a very bad idea to even try calming him. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had shied away to a corner where they sat making barely any conversation. Hermione even put down her studying, which was impressive in itself.

As for Ella's group of friends, the twins were being twice as loud as their normal volume while everyone else laughed. Angelina, Katie, and Alicia were listening and laughing with avid attention to everything the boys said. Lee and Ella were sharing skeptical looks over their friends' behavior. Neither of them wanted to try calming anyone down, it wouldn't have worked. They were too nervous for the match to come.

"Team! Bed!" Wood shouted over the twins' noise. Ella and Lee were left alone as the entire Gryffindor team marched itself up to the dormitories.

"I don't think I've ever seen them all so nervous," Lee told her as soon as they were out of sight.

Ella's eyes wandered to where the majority of her friends had disappeared, "They'll be fine, I'm sure of it."

Lee looked up at her, "Like, dream sure? You're not supposed to talk about that, remember the curse?"

"Of course I remember the curse, but I haven't seen that in a dream. I just know they'll do well because of their past experience," Ella said. Her tone was strained at the mention of her curse. Whenever someone mentioned it she could feel the weight it put on her sink lower and bring her down a bit further.

"What about the first match of the season?" Lee interjected.

"The dementors wouldn't dare show up again. Dumbledore would probably find some way to kill them if they even thought about it, and I'm not even sure you can kill those things."

He shook his head slowly, "Well, leave it to Dumbledore to find a way. I wouldn't want to get close enough to those things to figure it out." The two sat silently until finally moving to go to sleep themselves. Ella thought she was too anxious to sleep, but her mind proved her wrong.

_Ella was sitting with Lee in the announcer's area, and her first assumption was that she was witnessing the Quidditch Cup game. Quickly, the surroundings made it apparent that she was wrong. There were students in the crowd that she'd never seen before, and there were people missing. The biggest indication that she wasn't in the right time period was that someone else was sitting on a broom in front of the goals. Oliver Wood must be graduated by this time, and someone else had taken his spot. _

_It would appear that Gryffindor had just beat Slytherin. Ella was happy to see her team still winning even in the near future. Her eyes quickly found the twins and Harry on the ground, but something was definitely wrong. The three were fighting. _

_Before she knew it, she was on the ground beside them looking at the spectacle that had just been separated. A toadlike woman was saying something Ella couldn't hear. Ella couldn't hear anything. The boys' mouths moved, but it was only silence that greeted the girl. A pain flared up in her hand as Ella regarded the woman standing haughtily before her. A tint of malice grew from her silent form. Ella immediately knew she hated this woman. And something told her the woman hated her just as much._

The back of Ella's hand still tingled as she got ready to watch the match the next day. She and Lee went to the Great Hall for breakfast before the rest of the team since they'd be going together. After a piece of toast, Ella felt she'd had as much as her stomach could handle. As the Gryffindor team entered a thunderous applause echoed from the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws. The Slytherins were barely acknowledged as they hissed at the team.

"I think if they were to be Animagi, all of them would actually be snakes," Ella whispered in Lee's ear. He snickered at the thought, but watched the people warily as though he expected someone to try jinxing a teammate just before the game.

Wood flitted about the team trying to get everyone to eat, but it was clear to see that he wasn't going to eat himself. The twins tried eating a little food each, but none of their friends had much of an appetite. Shortly after, they decided to leave to check field conditions. Ella smiled to the twins as the rose to leave.

"Wish me luck," Fred said flippantly just before he left.

Ella smiled, "Good luck." He grinned at her then left the hall with the team. Applause filled the room once more.

From the Ravenclaw table Ella heard Cho call out, "Good luck, Harry!" The boy's face blushed red. Ella couldn't help but giggle at his crush.

Lee and Ella moved outside with the crowds after they'd left. The crowd was almost completely scarlet and gold at this moment. There were banners supporting each side, but it seemed like the school was sick of Slytherins winning the Quidditch cup and wanted to see Gryffindor take the victory this year. The excitement had welled up to a point where people were going to burst if the match didn't start soon.

Finally the teams entered the field to a roar of cheers. Ella found herself swept into the excited yelling. Lee was practically jumping up and down out of enthusiasm, "And here are the Gryffindors! Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years–" Lee was suddenly drowned out by a large amount of booing from the Slytherin side of the field. Ella glared in their general direction though they couldn't see her.

Lee continued, "And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes to the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill…" Ella watched the bulky Slytherin team storm onto the field. Malfoy looked puny next to the rest of the team, but the crowd of green and silver students booed and hissed at Lee's observation. Ella watched Wood and Flint "shake" hands; then Madam Hooch blew her whistle. The shrill pipe drowned amidst the cheers from Ella and the other students.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no –Quaffle intercepted by Warrington." Ella had a faint memory of her first train ride to Hogwarts where Warrington teased her for her blood status, but even then Angelina, Lee, and Alicia were there to stand up for their friend. "WHAM! –nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by –Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina –nice swerve around Montague –_duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger! _–SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!" Lee screamed to the already bellowing crowd.

Ella was jumping up and down excitedly. Angelina punched the air in celebration and flew around the field. She wasn't paying attention, but Ella saw it heading towards her. She tried to yell, but her voice wasn't loud enough to overpower a crowd.

"OUCH!"

The impact of Slytherin's captain running into Angelina nearly threw her off her broom. The crowd screamed and booed at the rude display. Marcus tried to apologize to the crowd, but it was obviously deliberate, he was an experienced flyer…definitely not prone to accidentally hitting other players. Fred chucked his Beater's club moments later at Flint. The impact caused the captain's head to hit his broom handle. Ella's stomach twisted slightly at the sight of blood running from his nose.

"Don't retaliate," she groaned to herself. Madam Hooch flew between the two ill-tempered boys and called a penalty shot to both teams.

"Come of it, Miss!" Fred howled at the referee. She paid him no mind though, and his eyes glanced over towards Ella. She merely shrugged as if to tell him: No point in arguing. Alicia took the penalty shot.

Lee and Ella's voices mingled as they both yelled, "Come on, Alicia!" The quiet crowd was eerie after how animated they'd been before. Lee cried out on his own, "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Next, Flint came bolting at the Gryffindor goal posts with blood still running down his face. Ella watched holding the seat with white knuckles whispering under her breath, "You can do it, Oliver!"

"'Course Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee was commentating before Madam Hooch blew her whistle. "Superb! Very difficult to pass –very difficult indeed –YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!" Ella was cheering with the rest of the crowd, minus the Slytherins. She watched Fred and George punch the air nearly simultaneously, which was an impressive feat considering they were on opposite sides of the pitch. Harry was scanning the field for the Snitch, but Ella knew that he had to wait until Gryffindor had a fifty point or more lead.

Beside her, Lee was rapidly spewing the actions on the field, "Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession –no!– Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field –THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

Ella was fuming as a Slytherin Chaser grabbed Katie's head and sent her cartwheeling. She only just managed to stay on her broom, but the Quaffle was dropped in that effort. Madam Hooch descended upon the two with her whistle blowing and screeching at the Slytherin boy. It only took a short moment later for Katie to score a penalty shot on Slytherin's Keeper.

"THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING–"

McGonagall cut him off, "Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way–!"

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!" Lee argued, but Ella stopped paying attention to them. She'd seen a glimmer of gold near the Gryffindor goal posts. From the brief jolt of excitement in Harry's eyes, he'd seen it as well. Though, Harry knew as well as she did that he couldn't catch the Snitch now. So Harry bolted towards Slytherin's end, and Malfoy followed him eagerly. Harry wasn't watching his surroundings and a Bludger whizzed past his right ear, shot by one of the Slytherin Beaters. Then a second grazed his elbow from the other Beater.

Ella elbowed Lee hard in the ribs to draw his attention to the two Beaters as they raced towards Harry from opposite directions. Their bats posed to strike. Harry waited until the very last second before shooting upwards and letting the two guys collide nastily.

"Ha haaa! Too bad, boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt!" Lee taunted as they moved apart. Ella was glad to see Slytherin get a taste of their own medicine. "And it's Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle –Flint alongside her –poke him in the eye, Angelina! –it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke –oh no –Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goal posts, come on now, Wood, save–!"

The Slytherins let out yells of enthusiasm as Flint managed to score. Lee swore so badly that McGonagall tried to take his microphone away. The two of them played a fierce game of tug-a-war for a minute before the professor finally let Lee continue his commentating.

As the game continued, Ella found herself cringing and screaming herself hoarse. This was without a doubt the dirtiest game in the history of Hogwarts. Ella sat on the edge of her seat while she watched the Slytherin team become increasingly violent. The Gryffindors often retaliating in anger. One Beater hit Alicia with his club and tried to play it off as though he'd mistaken her for a Bludger. George elbowed the same Beater in the face for hitting Alicia, which meant both teams got a plenty. Like earlier, Gryffindor scored while Slytherin missed because of Wood's superb skills.

It seemed that if Lee wasn't getting his mouth covered by Ella for nearly shouting something vulgar, Ella was getting held down by Lee, who ended up taking her wand away. "Believe me, if anyone could manage to turn all the Slytherins into geese in the middle of a Quidditch match, it would be you. This is for the best."

Katie scored with the help of Fred and George who were guarding her to make sure none of the Slytherins could attempt anything dangerous towards her. This plan was flawed. Oliver was pelted with two Bludgers one after another by the Slytherin Beaters. He rolled on his broom completely winded by the attack. Madam Hooch was beside herself.

"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA! GRYFFINDOR PENALTY!"

They watched Angelina score another point, then moments later Fred smacked a Bludger at Warrington who dropped the Quaffle practically into Alicia's hands. She scored sending Gryffindor on a high enough lead for Harry to finally catch the Snitch. Ella's eyes watched Harry carefully, but she also scanned the field for the glint of gold. She slowly watched Harry look upwards and followed his gaze to the metallic glint twenty feet above him. He used a burst of speed to go towards the Snitch.

"THAT'S CHEATING!" Ella shrieked as Malfoy latched himself onto the Firebolt. The broom slowed so much that the Snitch disappeared.

Madam Hooch was once more appalled by the lengths the Slytherins were going, "Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics!" The whole crowd was screaming at Malfoy for cheating and being a slimy snake.

Lee was completely beside himself, "YOU CHEATING SCUM! YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B–" He kept trying to dance further away from McGonagall, but even she wasn't paying attention to him. She was screaming things Ella had never heard come out of her mouth before. McGonagall shook her finger menacingly at Draco and in all her ferocity her hat fell off. Alicia took the penalty, but she ended up missing it too.

The game began to go downhill very fast after that. Gryffindor had hit the limit on their patience with the Slytherins and their concentration was failing. On the other hand, the Slytherins were delighted by Malfoy's tactics and began to take their playing to a new level of dirty.

"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal –Montague scores–" Lee groaned. "Seventy-twenty to Gryffindor…" Ella sighed in frustration. They were so close! If only she could've seen the outcome of this game. Then at least she'd be more at ease. "Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina, COME ON!"

Ella's eyes were locked on Angelina, but she was aware of green blurs streaking towards her as fast as they could. Then, they were scattered as the Firebolt zoomed towards them. Angelina had a completely clear shot.

"SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty points to twenty!" Ella yelled into the microphone since Lee was too excited to do so. Harry nearly flew into the stands, but he managed to pull back without giving anyone too much of a heart attack. The next thing she knew, Harry was darting towards the ground trying to catch up to Malfoy who seemed to be catching up to the Snitch. The boys were soon neck in neck and both made a grab for the tiny golden object.

Then Harry was pulling up from the dive, a winged ball beating against his hands. He'd won. The stadium exploded with cheers. Ella and Lee were hugging as he screamed: WE WON! WE WON! WE WON! Into the microphone. Ella was practically in tears as she screamed and cheered with all the Gryffindors. McGonagall was sobbing harder than Wood was as he hugged Harry. The entire Gryffindor team was hugging each other as they sank back to the ground. Ella and Lee joined the crowd of Gryffindors to congratulate the team. It seemed like everyone was beyond excited, even Percy who was jumping up and down like a toddler on Christmas.

Soon enough Ella and Lee were engulfed in hugs from all their friends on the team. Ella couldn't even tell who was hugging her in all the madness. The spectators watched as Dumbledore handed the team their Quidditch Cup. Each face was beaming as they saw the trophy they'd worked so hard for. Ella watched them but felt two people join her and Lee. She only looked out of the corners of her eyes to see it was Cho and Cormac. Both of them were just as excited to see the Quidditch Cup as she was. She kept her eyes on the team and smiled at their elated faces. Fred looked out and saw her. His smiled widened even more. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she couldn't help but think that everything was right with the world.

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**A/N: Sorry it's been so long. There's been a lot of craziness going on in my life. I hope you enjoy the chapter! Please review. I'd love it if there could be 5 reviews at least before I posted again!**


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